Tattooed Memories & Hidden Stories
by alcrev
Summary: [AU] Emily Fields has been a thriving tattoo artist for over a year now, living in the outskirts of NYC with her longtime friend Hanna Marin. Although content with how life has unfolded after high school, Emily soon realizes that she's missed the feeling of being needed when Alison DiLaurentis, an impulsive & family-neglected twenty-three year old, stumbles into the shop one night.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: As promised, here's my newest story. Well, actually, I've been writing it for a bit now. If you're wondering whether or not I'll be quick to update this, the answer is yes; I have 15/16 chapters written as of now. If that isn't enough to convince you to give this story a chance then, well, I have no idea what is. - This story will be an AU (and rated M so tread carefully), yes, but many of our favorite characters are written as they are on-screen, I promise, though I'm sure they're a bit more confident in this since A doesn't exist. -** **(T.W. for emotional abuse and alcoholism).**

 **Without further ado, happy reading!**

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The constant noise of moderately thick New York traffic echoes throughout the small town's streets and alleyways on a late Thursday evening. With the fog finally clearing after a late afternoon shower, the cars were smoothly driving through the town's main streets with a bit more speed and a little less aggravation, though with the occasional heavy honking from a few impatient drivers. Normally, it isn't that cramped around No End Tattoo Parlor; usually the traffic flows pretty well and there aren't all that many accidents — surprisingly, really, for being _just_ out of the big city's walls. Small yet thriving businesses line the sidewalks of the town, No End included, and then bigger buildings and hotels sit behind those small businesses. At first glance, the town looks straight out of a movie (both old and present-day); there are cute, clean, and modern coffee shops, art galleries, candy stores, and scattered clothing boutiques. Pretty much everything you need is in walking distance, which is a big perk for days when the streets _do_ get crowded.

When Emily first moved to New York, she arrived full of nerves because of both the new location and a belief that she wouldn't accomplish what she wanted to do. Actually, truth be told, she had no idea what she wanted to do; she only had a general idea: get situated at school, do well in school, finish school, move on. What was she going for, exactly? She had no idea. At first, Emily wanted to be a vet. Next, she thought about studying astronomy and dedicating her life to the stars. Nothing really came out of either of those ideas aside from the fact that she can now point at the stars and list the different constellations thanks to the times she decided to skim through a few small astronomy books, but that's not something she could put on her eventual resume.

Thankfully, after a year off of school, she had moved to New York with one of her best friends: Hanna Marin. During high school, Hanna and Emily had vowed to travel together no matter what, especially if the two other members of their group — Aria and Spencer — couldn't tag along to keep them company. Following a whole school-less year, Hanna and Emily had agreed on moving to New York; they compromised pretty easily, surpassing Emily's argument that she wanted to live somewhere less crowded. Like Hanna had always planned, she wanted to start going to school to work towards getting a degree relating to something in the fashion industry — Emily couldn't keep up with the specific job title since Hanna had changed her mind a number of times, although she's 90% sure that Hanna is now working towards being a "fashion forecaster."

On their way to the new, much-bigger-than-home city, the outspoken blonde had made over a million jokes about anything and everything that they had seen on the side of the road; it was blatantly obvious that she was nervous as well but held much more hope than Emily had, therefore she was clearly trying to make light of the situation. When they finally made it into New York, they visited Hanna's school, Parsons School of Design, located in NYC, before making their way over to the decent-sized apartment where they'd be living together. Their apartment — a two bedroom and one bath home industrial-looking space — rested above an array of small shops including a modern yet rustic cafe and public gym. When their low-ball offer for the apartment was quickly accepted, Emily was pretty skeptical and felt a strong desire to search the internet for complaints from former tenants, however Hanna eventually coerced her into realizing that the landlords probably didn't feel like throwing numbers back and forth. In the end, it worked out great — well, aside from a few of Hanna's obnoxious living tendencies.

One huge bonus of having Hanna as a best friend is that she isn't afraid of trying new things and dragging you out to new places. She's convinced Emily to go to plenty of new places since they've arrived in New York. Shopping malls, small hole-in-the-wall restaurants, bars (obviously), and even parks. It's fun, especially since Emily never goes out much on her own; she loves to try new things but never really knows where to venture to. This "trial by Hanna" method is exactly how Emily got to where she is now. One night, her blonde friend had dragged her to No End (to which, when Emily heard the name, she replied, _"This night has no end"_ ), begging Emily to help her pick out a nice tattoo; _"I want something bold but not too bold where I lose my attractiveness, you know?"_ she had said on the way over. Emily had just continued to side-eye her rambling best friend, hoping that the artist would refuse to work on her simply because she couldn't sit still. Once they walked into the back room with the artist, Hanna had chosen a few designs and asked Emily her opinion, earning a few suggestions from Emily that the artist commended the brunette for. Eventually, Hanna had decided on a piece that wraps around the upper thigh area: a detailed, lace-looking "garter" with a bow, uncolored.

Once the artist gathered all of his equipment and properly sterilized the area — which Emily, though impressed, wasn't aware would take _that_ long — Hanna grew nervous and began repeatedly asking Emily if she should go through with it. _"That's up to you, Han. We've done this before, remember?"_ Emily had pointedly reminded her friend whilst motioning to her foot. Ultimately, Hanna nodded her head and declared, _"Let's do this,"_ which earned a replying head nod from Brixton, the artist, who started to clean the area of her skin where she wanted the tattoo. He then took the stencil and carefully wrapped it around her upper thigh, smoothing the paper gradually to make sure no pockets or folds formed. After removing the paper, he instructed both Hanna and Emily to take a look, to which Hanna clapped her hands in excitement and Emily gawked at the details. As he periodically pressed his foot on the pedal to start the machine, Brixton dipped the small cluster of needles into the ink before wiping Hanna's skin with a paper towel once again. Soon enough, he began to draw intricate lines along her thigh, beginning the outline.

At first, Hanna scrunched her face up in new-found burning sensation and slight pain before she let out a shaky laugh and scolded Emily for snorting at her reaction. _"I really should be taking a video of this. Aria and Spencer would love it,"_ earned the response, _"You weren't much better when you got your tiny tattoo, Miss Fields."_ As Brixton paid close attention to where and what he was tattooing, Emily began to grow interested in what he was doing as well. Whenever he took a break to re-dip the needles in the ink, Emily would ask him a question about the art of tattooing. She wanted to know more about it. She found it interesting how much care and concentration took place in order to make a beautiful piece and, from the looks of the artwork on the walls, it also took skill. Emily had gotten pretty good at drawing towards the end of high school; she had always had an artistic edge — in fact, that's what advanced her from preschool to kindergarten, Emily's parents had told her — but she really began to grow into her own artistic perceptions and skill. Sadly, she never paid much attention to it since she was busy trying to figure out what she should do with the rest of her life; being an artist doesn't pay much, she was told.

A few hours and a tear or two later, Hanna's thigh was wrapped up and they were heading home with a care sheet.

" _You're going to have to help me wash this, you know,"_

" _Hanna, you can reach your thigh just fine."_

" _Fine. But if it gets infected, it'll be your problem."_

As the weeks went by, Emily constantly stopped by No End just to look through the idea books in the lounging area of the parlor and practice her own drawing. She became good friends with Brixton along with the few other artists. Eventually, Brixton had suggested that she bring in her portfolio of drawings so he could help her out. She was nervous, that's a definite, because she hates being critiqued, but she was also excited to show someone her work — someone who had actually _asked_ to see it. _"Stop being so nervous, Emily,"_ Brixton had said in a monotonous tone without looking up, concentrating on her work. After a few suggestions and a bunch of "I'm impressed" head nods, Brixton had asked if she knew of their apprenticeship position and then proposed the idea that Emily should give it a go which, without giving it any second thoughts, she did.

The apprenticeship started off slow; Emily would come in, Brixton would give her a task to do (or an object to draw), and she'd follow directions based on previous suggestions that he had given her. After a bit of time, the pace picked up and she started tattooing on fake skin or whatever Brixton had given her at the time — she didn't even _want_ to ask. As she learned to keep the handheld machine steady — with the trade-off being that holding a pencil became strenuous — her lines began to flow more and her blending became ten times more pristine. After a year and a half, Emily was given a permanent, well-paying job at No End. Brixton had remarked that she learned the craft super quick and he was proud of her, to which Emily beamed and thanked him for introducing her to this new world. Over time, she grew fond of the clients that came in: some regulars and some new-comers, including timid teenagers and even elderly folk. Additionally, Emily's co-workers became her new family, including Hanna who consistently stopped by the shop in order to drop off some coffee or lunch. For once in her life, Emily feels completely in-place; like she's supposed to be where she finally is.

Emily counts the register's contents as the night starts to come to a close — it's nearing 10:30 P.M., which means only thirty more minutes until the shop closes; No End stays open later than most parlors nearby, as per public demand. Unfortunately, although the public demands it, no one usually shows after 9:45 P.M. aside from those who were given a dare to get something obscene inked on some random body part.

As she continues to count today's earnings, Brixton walks out from the backroom, making his way towards the front door.

"Hey, Emily, can you go through tomorrow's consultations and appointments to make sure everything is… orderly? Before you lock up, I mean."

"Of course," she replies after looking up from the cash register.

She shifts her position so she's on the opposite end of the shop's front desk, sitting right in front of the laptop. She says her goodbyes to Brixton as he puts on his old, olive green hat and walks out of the shop. After going through a few margins of clients, she hears the bell above the door chime, signifying that they have a customer. As she looks up, she comes face to face with a new blonde who is slightly leaning over the counter, displaying a determined look with glossed-over eyes. The girl looks down towards the desk for a split second, biting her cheek as if wondering why she even came into the shop in the first place.

"Welcome to No End. Do you—" Emily begins to speak before getting interrupted.

The blonde shakes her head rather impatiently. "I want to get a tattoo," she states before inhaling deeply.

The brunette behind the desk notes the other girl's posture, attitude, and appearance; she's clearly been drinking. Emily looks around the parlor before facing the girl again. If she asks the girl if she's been drinking, she'll most likely deny it. On the other hand, if she simply accuses the girl of being drunk… well, what if—

" _Hello?_ " the blonde reaches over and pokes Emily's hand that's resting on the desk.

As a reaction, Emily snaps out of her thoughts a little too quickly and ends up saying, "We don't tattoo people who aren't sober."

"What makes you think I'm not sober?"

"Well, do you always look like you've stayed up for the last forty-eight hours?

At this, the blonde rolls her eyes and walks away from the counter. Emily scopes out the girl's outfit: she's wearing tight, black jeans with a long, royal blue blouse, also accompanied by some nice-looking flats. Clearly the blonde had gone somewhere before coming into No End. Emily casually watches the other girl look at the simple tattoo flash sheets that adorn the lounge area's walls. Soon, the girl starts to pace back and forth, slightly concerning Emily. Right when she's about to ask the other girl if everything's alright, the blonde girl's phone rings, earning a grunt as she answers it.

"Yes, I did call," she partially hisses into the phone.

"Can you get me a few more nights in the hotel?"

"No. I'm _not_ going to try to make it work with him. I thought you wanted me to be happy?" she says in a mocking tone.

"When will the new place be ready?"

"Thank you," she breathes out a sigh of… relief?

Emily carefully goes about her work, however struggling due to trying to understand what the blonde and the person on the other line are talking about. She goes through a few more clients before she hears the blonde groaning at the person on the other line again.

"Do you pay attention to _anything_ I say, Mom? He cheated on me. _Cheated_."

As she shakes her head, she quietly says, "Whatever. Thanks for the room again. Goodnight."

Emily watches the blonde stand near the doorway, motionless, before speaking again.

"You can stay here until I clock out, if you'd like."

At the brunette's voice, the other girl looks up with glossier eyes, nodding a small "thank you" before sitting on the old leather couch resting against one of the large windows. As she grasps the small purse in her lap, she watches a few cars go by and takes in the neighborhood's surroundings. She had walked (and partly stumbled) from a nearby bar, deciding that a tattoo sounded like a good idea. Truthfully, if you asked her what the hell she was doing, she'd say that she has no idea anymore; she'd say that she goes wherever the wind (or alcohol) pushes her.

"You seem like you're lost in deep thought," Emily says as she rounds the desk, gently sitting down next to the other girl.

"Something like that," the blonde says without looking back towards Emily.

"What's your name?"

"Alison," she replies, still watching the cars outside the window.

When the blonde girl — now known as Alison — continues to show no interest in talking to her, Emily begins to get up, causing Alison to snap back into reality.

"I'm sorry. I'm having a rough day. What's your name?" she apologizes, hoping that the other girl will sit back down.

"I'm Emily," the brunette says as she reclaims her previous position on the couch. "What's going on?"

When Alison hesitates, Emily immediately cuts in again, "You don't need to tell me. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Alison answers in a small and comforting voice. "I just don't know how to answer without unloading years of problems on you," she smiles sadly.

"I have time."

"I don't."

Emily chuckles. "Fine. Just tell me what brought you into the shop tonight."

"I was engaged to this guy named Elliott for a few months. We had been together for a little over a year beforehand," she stares at the floor as she continues, "honestly, I don't even know why we were together for so long. I didn't feel that much when I was with him. Anyway… a couple of days ago, I found out that he's been seeing someone else. He has been for a while, apparently." She pauses for a moment before softly laughing and finishing, "Even though I wasn't the happiest, it still hurts when someone you thought you knew cheats on you."

As Emily looks at her with sympathy, the blonde inhales deeply once again and lets out a laugh.

"So, I came here to get something in order to commemorate my freedom," she declares. "Something like " _4/25_ " maybe, but... " Alison looks at Emily pointedly, " _somebody_ won't let me do that."

Emily raises her hands in surrender with wide eyes. "Well maybe if you didn't smell like Smirnoff's campaign girl…"

At the statement, Alison rolls her eyes and dismisses the conversation, now turning the spotlight on Emily. "Aren't tattoo artists supposed to have tattoos themselves?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Not every tattoo artist has to be covered in tattoos."

"Well, shouldn't they? To… promote their work, in a way?" she giggles.

"I have tattoos," Emily replies. "You just can't see them right now."

"Are you hinting that they're _private_ tattoos?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Emily smirks at the seemingly curious girl next to her.

Before Alison could formulate a response, Emily's phone began to chime, reminding her that her shift officially ended five minutes ago. Alison looks around the shop, admiring the artwork, various decor, and intricate inspirational sculptures. Eventually, she faces Emily who is now checking the notifications on her phone.

"So I guess I'm not getting a tattoo tonight," Alison half assumes, half asks.

Emily simply looks up and gives her an "I told you I can't" look before going back to check her notifications. Soon enough, the brunette gets up from the couch and stares Alison who is still looking around.

"Did you walk here?"

"I did," she confirms.

"I'm going to walk you home or… wherever," Emily mentally smacks herself for revealing that she was listening to the phonecall. She was _trying_ to act confident and declarative, but...

"Were you eavesdropping, Emily?" Alison catches on and teases.

When Emily opens and closes her mouth without answering, Alison continues, "I'd like some company. Thank you."

Alison gets up and walks towards the door while Emily grabs her belongings and the shop's keys. After shutting off the lights, they step out onto the sidewalk while Emily locks the building and shoves the keys into her bag. The two begin walking down the street, enjoying the small night breeze that bounces off of the buildings that line the sidewalks. Most of their lights are off aside from the required security lights and a few neon window signs. Much less cars are passing now that it's nearing 11:10 P.M., though a number of people are still walking down the street, flowing from bar to bar or to the late-night cafes. As they walk, turning corners every now and then, their shoulders occasionally brush against each other, neither one of them caring.

"Are you feeling any better?" Emily is first to break the silence.

"Are you asking if I'm less drunk than I was earlier?" the other girl smirks as she side-eyes the brunette beside her.

"I guess you could put it like that," Emily snorts at Alison's bluntness.

"I am. Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"You kept me company, so thank you," Alison replies in a soft tone as she turns her head to look at Emily.

Though Alison still felt the effects of the night's "coping," she wasn't lying when she thanked the other girl for keeping her company. Spending time with someone actually kept her mind off of everything — not just her ex-fiance. Currently, she's in a much better mood than she was when she first walked into No End. And, seemingly, she came out of it with a new friend.

"Where are we even going?" Emily questions when she realizes that she has no idea where Alison is staying for the night.

After turning one more corner, a large, fancy hotel comes into full view, towards which Alison motions and says, "There."

" _Fancy_ ," Emily awes with a head nod. "I'm guessing Mom and Dad have money."

"Yeah," comes the curt reply. Emily guesses that she struck a nerve when Alison stops at the hotel's front doors and says, "You don't need to come in. I can make it to my room."

When Emily looks at the tall doors and doesn't respond, Alison chuckles. "You want to see the inside, don't you?" she assumes.

"Look, I'm not a fancy person, but even I can appreciate some nice architecture," she blinks at the judging blonde before walking through the doors.

The hotel's lobby has shiny marble floors accompanied by sleek furnishings with gold accessories. A few chandeliers hang from the high ceilings, making the room look impossibly bigger. Every step announces a sharp echo, most likely due to the small amount of occupants currently in the lobby. The front desk (backed by a small water fountain) is stationed across from the front doors — revolving doors, actually — with soft couches filling the space in between. A large fireplace is inserted into the room's west wall, adorned with statues and a historical information postcard. Both far corners of the lobby branch off in opposing directions, containing indents in the wall for stairwells and silver elevators, as well as hallways that deepen — presumably leading to a cluster of hotel rooms or rooms used for recreation.

Alison watches the other girl take in the oversized room, admiring her as she seemingly found something new every second. Who knew that someone could be that excited over expensive decor and bellhops pushing luggage across the floor. It's cute, Alison decides, so she waits a few more minutes before reminding Emily that it's growing closer to midnight.

"Having a good time, Cinderella?" she teases again.

"Are you suggesting that I never get to enjoy nice things?"

Alison shrugs in response. She doesn't know, truthfully.

"You'd be correct," Emily confirms before nodding towards the elevators.

They get in the enclosed space and the doors gently close. Once Alison hits the button with the number " _17_ " engraved in it, they both relax, causing Emily to finally smell Alison's perfume. When the blonde first walked into No End, Emily initially smelt a hint of vanilla, however assumed that it was a nearby cafe. Gradually, she began to solely smell alcohol — not a powerful scent, but enough to pick up on. Now, after nearly an hour and some fresh air, Emily faintly smells something other than alcohol on the blonde next to her and, honestly, she kind of enjoys it. Actually, she enjoys Alison's presence in general. Although Emily is constantly meeting new people through work, she normally doesn't meet anyone new _out_ of work and, even though it's quickly nearing midnight, she's happy that Alison accepted her offer — or demand — to walk her to the hotel.

The elevator slightly bounces and then dings, followed by the doors opening. Alison steps out before Emily who is now admiring the freshly vacuumed carpet and light-colored walls.

Without looking back, Alison throws her voice over her shoulder. "The doors are going to close with you in there, you know."

This causes Emily to scurry out of the confined space just before the doors close. Emily's brows furrow at the elevator doors, almost as if she's angry that she could've been crushed. As she turns, she sees Alison still walking down the hallway, further away than she anticipated, however Emily catches herself staring at Alison a little too long. The brunette gently blinks and mentally reminds herself to focus before speed-walking in order to catch up to Alison who had rounded the corner a few moments ago.

She turns the same corner and abruptly comes face to face with Alison who had stopped just behind the corner so Emily could catch up. For a split second, Emily's breath catches in her throat, both from the shock and the proximity of their faces, however she recovers and motions towards the end of the hall so Alison will continue to walk.

"Try to keep up," Alison raises an eyebrow before walking again.

They walk down the hallway lined with doors on one side and large windows on the other, displaying a beautiful view of some distanced city lights. Emily tries not to get sucked into the cityscape as they pass a few more doors. Suddenly, Alison stops and pulls the key out of her purse before straightening it out and inserting it into the keyhole.

"Don't they have automatic key cards now?" Emily nods towards the door.

"Some people feel more official with old, metal keys," the blonde challenges.

"Are you one of those people?"

"I am one of those people," she giggles.

Alison pushes the door open to reveal the large space decorated similar to the hotel's lobby. Next to the room's front door is a small coat closet, connected to a short hallway leading to the space's living room. Two couches rest in the middle of the room atop a soft-looking carpet, one facing the windows that look down at the hotel's garden, and the other facing the wall-mounted television. The lights are dimmed until Alison uses the dial next to the door to make it a bit brighter.

Emily stands in the hallway, staring ahead, completely absorbed by the new sight.

"Do you want to come in?" Alison asks in a confused tone.

"I wish I could," Emily bites her lip before checking her phone for the time. "It's pretty late though and I should get home," she explains, "and _you_ should get some rest."

Alison jokingly rolls her eyes and waves her hand. "So now you're a tattoo artist _and_ a life coach?"

"Mm, sadly I don't get paid to care."

"So you care on your own time?"

"I do," Emily confirms in all seriousness. She reaches for her bag and takes out a sticky note and a pen, scribbling on the light green paper. "Here," she gives it to Alison. "I know you said that you're feeling better, but call or message me if that changes."

Alison raises an eyebrow. "I can't call or message you otherwise?"

"You know what I mean."

"I know. Thank you, Emily," the blonde says before Emily, reluctantly, tears herself away from the girl she met just a few hours prior.

She walks a few paces back towards the elevators before she hears Alison saying her name again, still standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" Emily turns around to see Alison looking a bit more reserved, a softer expression replacing her previously joking demeanor.

"Thank you for not letting me get a tattoo tonight. It wouldn't have ended up good."

"Are you suggesting that I do bad work?" Emily teases.

"You know what I mean," Alison mimics from the doorway.

"I know," Emily smirks before turning away once again and continuing to walk to the elevators.

She gets in and presses the starred button in order to get back to the lobby. While the elevator descends to the destination, Emily leans her head back against the cool elevator wall and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath and pulls her phone out of her pocket so she can check the time: midnight. As she puts the device back in its former place, the elevator doors open and she walks through the lobby towards the front doors where a couple of taxis are parked.

Emily opens the vehicle's door and slides into the seat, informing the driver of her apartment's address. The middle-aged man nods his head and the car starts to move. As the taxi navigates through the streets, Emily feels her body relaxing more and more while her mind continues to wander and revel in the last ninety minutes. Tonight was good, she decides.

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 **Alright, so...? Hope the first chapter was good enough for everyone's taste. The rest of the fic, by the way, is quite a ride; it's not exactly the most smooth-sailing story, mostly because I can't refrain from writing angst, (sorry - kind of), but I promise Emison is always endgame.**

 **Funny story: This fic's whole concept came to me at four in the morning (that's an ungodly hour, I know), and I wrote it down immediately. I sat down for the next day and planned the outline, summary, etc., and immediately started rolling on it. Once I hit chapter three, Sasha was found getting a tattoo and I took it as a sign to continue further.**

 **Anyway, any questions? Comments? Love? Hatred? (Please don't let it be the last one because I'm such a softy).**

 **Hope to see you back next week! (And don't forget to follow my Tumblr: "capn-charlie")**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thank you all so much for the wonderful response to this story's first chapter. It means a lot to me (like... you have no idea), so here's the next chapter as a surprise update.**

 **From now on, I'll be updating regularly on Wednesdays (sad face, I know), but I hope no one gets too impatient during the waits in between. There will be a week with two updates sometime in the future, but, for now, Wednesdays are the days to look out for.**

 **Have fun with this one.**

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Friday afternoon is quickly approaching. Actually, to Emily, it already feels like 5 P.M., even if it's really only around 11 A.M. She had woken up early just like every other day off from work, jogged down some nearby side streets, then had stopped by the small cafe under her and Hanna's apartment to pick up their favorite beverages. It was her normal Friday routine, really, but then, unlike any other day, she decided to surprise Hanna with a nice breakfast.

So, here she is, making a mess of their small (well, decent-sized but still small) kitchen. Since her early high school years, Emily has been working more and more on her cooking techniques. When she was younger, all she knew how to make was anything boxed with specific instructions. Had she tried to make scrambled eggs and french toast when she was younger, well, she would have needed the fire department on speed dial — just in case, of course. In sophomore year, her mother had convinced her into going to a cooking class together; _"Mother and daughter bonding,"_ she had called it. _"Mom, they're going to end up banning me from the class,"_ Emily had argued, but then her mother had pulled the _"But I'll teach you how to make your favorite desserts"_ card and, suddenly, Emily was sold. After that, she practiced her cooking and baking skills (since they are totally _not_ the same) regularly, convincing herself that it'll make someone happy one day… or herself — either sounds just fine.

She flips a coated piece of bread, making sure to toast both sides perfectly, then makes her way over to the fridge and takes out the jug of orange juice before bringing it over to the small, round table in the corner of the kitchen area. Next, she gets two glasses and places them next to the jug as well as the two cups from the downstairs cafe. When she returns to the stove, she moves around the scrambled eggs and returns to the french toast, flipping each one again to scope out both sides.

Just as she's finishing up, Hanna walks out of her bedroom while rubbing her eyes. Emily muses to herself that Hanna must not have seen the food since she had walked straight to the bathroom without saying a word. She places the eggs and french toast on the table along with everything else and then takes a seat. When Hanna finally walks out of the bathroom, she laughs with a groggy voice.

"I honestly thought the neighbors were cooking something and I was going to go fight them for it," she comments as she takes a seat across from Emily.

"So I really _have_ gotten better since high school?"

"You have no idea," Hanna replies as she serves herself some food.

The blonde is silent while she finishes cutting up the food and then finally tries some. She seems content as she continues to enjoy her meal and the drink that Emily had bought for her.

"I love breakfast so much," she groans.

Emily takes small bites of her food while scrolling through her phone. She had been waiting for Alison to call or message her ever since she left the hotel last night. Emily knew she was, most likely, still asleep, but she felt herself expecting to hear from the new girl; she wanted to make sure that Alison was okay and didn't need anything.

"It's brunch to me," Emily responds, earning a look from Hanna.

"That's because you wake up at the ass-crack of dawn. It's not normal."

"You'd be able to wake up early too if you didn't stay up until 3 A.M. nearly every night," Emily looks up from her phone to see Hanna's cheeks stuffed with food.

"Hey," Hanna scrunches her eyebrows and tries to speak.

"Hi there," Emily smirks while looking through her phone once again.

As Hanna finishes up with her food, she lets out a burp before covering her mouth, earning a "what the fuck" look from Emily. In response, she starts laughing and buries her face in her arms propped up on the table. While Hanna's laughter dies down, Emily gets up and starts to clean, bringing the dishes to the sink and putting the juice away.

"So, who's the lucky someone that's making you cheery enough to make me breakfast this morning?" Hanna asks from the table.

Emily turns around to see Hanna smirking and bouncing her eyebrows up and down.

"Please stop doing that," Emily breathes out with a laugh.

"Seriously, Em. Either someone died or someone's making you feel alive."

"Poetic, Han. Very poetic," Emily turns back around and starts to wash the dishes.

"You're deflecting."

When Emily turns around this time, Hanna is wearing her best "I know you so don't even try to think of a lie" face. Emily opens her mouth and then closes it, not sure how to answer the question; what is she supposed to say? _"Yeah, Han, I met a beautiful girl last night. We hung out for ninety minutes and, wow, I think I'm in love."_ Emily doesn't even know much about this girl aside from the small things that she learned and the other things she was told. Does she want to know more about her? That's a totally different question.

Right when Hanna is about say something (or possibly go on a ten hour rant about their friendship), her phone chimes on the table.

"Ugh, not again," Hanna grunts as she picks up the phone to read the text. After a second of reading, Hanna groans. "This internship is going to kill me soon. Just watch. It's going to happen."

"I'll start looking for new roommates."

"That's not even funny, Emily Fields," she tries to throw a balled up napkin at Emily, failing miserably when it takes a downturn before making it a foot across the room.

Emily rolls her eyes as she picks up the piece of trash from the floor. "So I'm guessing that you have internship stuff to do today," she assumes.

"When don't I have internship stuff to do?"

"Weekends… _normally_."

"And thank fuck for that," Hanna gets up from the table and stretches. "I'm not sure when I'll be back today so… don't wait up."

"Do I ever?" Emily smirks as she remembers a couple of instances when Hanna was locked out of the apartment after losing her key, trying to wake Emily up in the form of five phone calls and twenty text messages, including a variation of texts explaining ways that Hanna's going to kill Emily when she gets ahold of her.

As Hanna heads back to her bedroom, Emily plops herself down onto the living room couch and turns the TV on. She flips through channel after channel until she finally settles on watching the weekly Ghost Adventures marathon. Normally, she'd try to find something on Netflix or even pop in a DVD since, usually, the Ghost Adventures marathon consists of the same episodes every week, but she decides to watch for a bit until she figures out what else to do for the day. Emily checks her phone again by habit, rolling her eyes at herself when she realizes that she's already checked her phone at least five times in the last hour. She places the phone on her stomach as she slouches into the back of the couch, practically laying down across the cushions while she pays attention to the investigators on the show.

" _If you pay attention closely, you can hear a little girl asking for help. Was this the spirit of the young girl that died when this hospital was still open?"_

Emily listens closely to the playback of the audio, snorting when she just hears static and laughing when she sees the investigator's shocked face. Within a few seconds, her phone buzzes and she picks it up a little too quickly, bummed to see that it's only an email from H&M. As she deletes the unwanted emails in her inbox, a text notification appears at the top of her screen. Her interest immediately piques when she sees that the message is from an unknown number, so she opens it:

" _Hey, you. It's Alison."_

Emily smiles; she's happy that Alison decided to text her but, actually, she's also quite surprised.

 **E** — "Are you still feeling okay?"

 **A** — "Depends. Am I able to message you either way?"

The brunette rolls her eyes; Alison seems to answer questions with her own questions pretty often. She quickly types out her response.

 **E** — "Of course… but are you feeling okay?"

 **A** — "I am."

 **A** — "Thank you again."

 **E** — "For what?"

 **A** — "Checking up on me."

 **E** — "But you're the one who texted me."

The texts stop for a few minutes and Emily isn't sure if she somehow offended Alison but she exits the conversation and saves Alison's number before putting her phone down again. As she rests on the couch and tries to focus on the show, Hanna comes out of her room dressed in sweats and a t-shirt with her hair down, messy but styled.

"I thought you had to dress nice for internships," Emily remarks from the couch.

"This isn't nice?" Hanna feigns hurt as she gathers her keys and purse. "I dressed up the first few times while a few other interns _clearly_ put in little to no effort, so now I wear what I want." She turns back to Emily before leaving the apartment. "No wild parties while I'm gone," she shoots the girl on the couch a serious face — well, partly serious. Emily isn't much of a partier and Hanna knows it.

When Hanna shuts the door, Emily feels her phone buzz again with a new text notification.

 **A** — "I know that. I mean thank you for asking if I'm feeling okay. Not many people care to ask."

Emily begins to type "I'm not many people" but stops when she sees that Alison is typing again.

 **A** — "Tattoo anyone new today?"

 **E** — "No tattooing today. Friday's my day off. :)"

 **A** — "So what are you doing then?"

 **E** — "Currently? Laying on the couch and watching TV. Productive, I know."

 **A** — "Want to do me another favor? :)"

 **E** — "Is it a tattoo? Because if so…"

 **A** — "No, haha. I didn't realize how many boxes I had for my new place and I need some help moving them."

 **E** — "Alright, but if I come over and need to move a piano by myself, I'm leaving."

 **A** — "You wouldn't leave me… :)"

 **A** — "And I'll help you move it, don't worry."

 **E** — "We actually have to move a piano?"

 **A** — "Just come over."

 **E** — "Send me the address. I'll be there after I shower."

 **A** — "Good. Don't want you stinking up my new place."

Emily receives the address of Alison's new place; it's not too far from her apartment — in fact, it's relatively close, but she feels like taking a taxi anyway. She pushes herself up off of the couch and walks into her bedroom in order to pick out some clothes. Eventually she settles on wearing nice-fitting jeans with ripped kneecaps, a white t-shirt, and a nice pair of sneakers. She grabs a dark green flannel and puts it next to her clothing pile, taking it just in case she gets cold since the weather has been alternating between extreme cold and extreme heat lately. Grabbing her pile of clothes, she makes her way through the apartment and to the bathroom so she can shower.

X X X

After showering, Emily had dried her hair a bit before deciding that she'll let the rest dry on its own. She got dressed quickly and brushed her teeth, then gathered her phone and keys. A taxi quickly stopped for her although the Friday traffic was becoming a little more dense, so she slid into the seat and the driver pulled away from the curb.

Emily sits in the backseat while the driver hums to some quiet music on the radio. She pulls out her phone and makes sure that she gave the driver the correct address, then puts her phone back and watches the scenery outside the window. The small businesses and buildings soon become less connected and fenced-off trees take their place. If Emily looked backwards, it would look like she's currently in a whole different town. Strangely, it's the same town — this part is just a bit more expensive.

The vehicle pulls up to a brick building with concrete steps that lead up to a dark oak door, complemented by a brass knocker and doorknob. The stairs are railed with black spindles and the front of the building is lined with perfectly-trimmed shrubs and flowerbeds that cover the bottom portion of a row of tall windows. Emily looks to the side of the building and sees that it isn't connected to other buildings, so she begins to wonder if this is an apartment building on its own or if it's an actual house. Either way, it's beautiful.

She pays the driver and steps out of the taxi, getting onto the sidewalk and staring at the building once more. Before she takes a step further, she hears a voice from one of the windows.

"Wow. You really do like pretty buildings, don't you?"

Of course Alison is watching her creepily stare at the building. Emily furrows her brows towards the direction of Alison's voice then begins walking up the front steps. She reaches the front door and goes to knock however, instead, the front door swings open to reveal the stunning blonde that she had met less than twenty-four hours ago. Alison stands there, slightly smirking with an arched eyebrow, wearing a tanktop and shorts. Her hair looks messy although it's partly put up; she looks like she's been hard at work for hours.

"You look nice," Emily blurts out.

Alison laughs in response. "I don't think so but thanks," she continues to snicker as she lets Emily step through the doorway.

As Emily steps further into Alison's new place, she notes the much different decor than what she had seen at the hotel. Sure she liked the hotel's aesthetic, but she's taking an even bigger liking to Alison's new home. Most of the walls are painted an off-white, aside from the entry hallway's east wall which is a mural of exposed and distressed brick. A beautiful (and probably pretty old) staircase is stationed across from the door, leading up to a large loft area that ends up above the main floor's kitchen, overlooking the two story windows and living room. Hanging above their heads is a decorative chandelier: a rustic, black iron frame bent into several different degrees of curves, topped off with old light bulbs and a few crystals hanging from the frame.

Emily walks a bit further across the orange-ish brown wood floor, turning left through the opening and entering the main living space attached to the kitchen. Around the room are scattered boxes atop of the couch, countertops, and strewn across the floor. An extravagant, black piano is tucked into the corner of the living room, standing in front of the huge windows but pushed away just enough so people can have room to walk by. The place isn't absolutely huge but it's definitely spacey enough, especially for one person.

"I didn't think you were serious about the piano," Emily remarks as she turns around to see Alison walking into the room.

"Don't worry. The movers put it in the correct spot," Alison smiles. "Do you like it?" she asks with a shy undertone.

"What? The piano?"

"No," Alison laughs and shakes her head. "This place. It's more my style than that hotel was," she finishes with a small shrug.

"I don't know how to respond without sounding like a total aesthetic-obsessed nerd," the brunette gives the other girl a look. She rubs her hands together quickly as she looks around at all of the boxes. "So, what are we doing here?"

"Basically I need to get those boxes," she points to a pile of brown packages on the couch, "upstairs into the loft area," she gestures up the stairs. "Afterwards you can help me unpack some of these other ones."

"Oh, I can?" Emily teases.

" _Please_ ," Alison adds reluctantly.

Emily doesn't respond; she picks up a few boxes from the couch and begins to make her way towards the stairwell. The stairs creak as she ascends, however not as much as she would expect from an old remodeled house. She makes it to the top of the stairs and sees a small reading area backed by an old window. Turning to the left, she immediately finds herself in Alison's "bedroom." A queen-sized bed is pushed against the furthest wall, facing the staircase and somewhat overlooking the railing with a small end table in-between. The corner of the loft is occupied by a long, narrow closet, though the inside looks much bigger.

The brunette sets the boxes down on the foot of Alison's completely unmade bed, making sure to spread them out so they don't topple over. She walks over to the railing and suddenly notices the beautiful windows straight ahead. They don't look as big from the exterior of the house, but inside (and even far away) they look huge.

"I can't wait to sleep in my own bed," Alison groans as she walks into her bedroom area with another stack of boxes. "I feel like I haven't in forever." The blonde drifts over to where Emily is standing, still watching out of the huge windows.

"This place is going to look so beautiful at sunset," Alison remarks as she looks out the windows as well.

"I was thinking the same thing," Emily responds almost absentmindedly. "It'll be shining through those trees," she says while motioning to the greenery fronting the brick building. "I usually watch the sunset when I'm not working," she finishes in a soft whisper, not wanting to add to her already-very-nerdy personality regarding everything visually appealing.

Alison gently bites the inside of her cheek. "You'll have to stay here for a few of them," she looks towards the girl standing next to her. They share some sort of unspoken moment, just reading one another's eyes, neither of them looking away for a little longer than ten seconds.

In the end, Emily doesn't exactly know how to respond to Alison's soft, flirtatious tone, so all she replies is, "I was going to show up with or without an invitation anyway," earning an arched eyebrow from the other girl. Emily internally rolls her eyes at herself for playing off everything as a joke.

"Well in that case…"

"No take-backs," Emily quickly says. "I'd love to watch the sunset with you. Thank you for the invite," comes the heartfelt reply. The loft's atmosphere continues to alternate between serious, flirty, and playful at a rapid rate until Emily steps away from the railing and begins walking towards the stairs.

"Did I come here to work or did I come here to passionately talk about sunsets?" Emily challenges from the top of the stairs, causing the other girl to roll her eyes and follow.

When the two make it back into the living room, there are still quite a few boxes to be unpacked and sorted. Grunting, Alison begins to unpack a box labeled " _decor pieces_ ," sitting next to another three boxes with the same label. Meanwhile, Emily slides a few boxes over to an open space on the floor and starts to unpack the contents of the first. As they unpack, there's a mix of (sometimes sarcastic) _ooh_ 's and _aah_ 's coming from Emily's corner of the room, accompanied by a combination of phrases such as "Aw, I missed this" and a variation of groans from Alison. Although strangely comfortable with the silence between them, after a bit of unpacking, Emily decides to strike up a new conversation.

"So, this may be a stupid question but… do you know how to play the piano?"

Alison laughs. "What, did you think that I'd just have a random piano taking up space because it's pretty?" she questions as she moves onto a new box.

"I don't know. It goes nicely with everything… so maybe," Emily shrugs.

"I've been playing since I was pretty young. Around seven, maybe," she tries to remember. "It's the only thing that I had a really strong passion for."

" _Had_?" Emily catches on, smirking a little.

"I haven't played in a while."

"So I was correct?"

"No. You asked if I know how to play the piano, which I do," Alison smirks more than Emily was prior to being corrected. "What about you? Did you always have a strong passion for tattooing?"

"Not exactly. My parents told me that I've always been good at art but I never really imagined that I'd ever tattoo someone," the brunette explains as she moves onto the third box in her corner.

"How did you get into tattooing then?"

"My best friend brought me into No End because she wanted to get something and I just found it interesting. I started to draw again and, eventually, the shop's owner offered me an apprenticeship and, now, here I am," Emily finishes in an animated tone, causing Alison to chuckle. "My parents weren't all that happy though," Emily adds as she remembers the multiple arguments with her parents over her new profession.

"Why not?" Alison looks towards Emily who had stopped unpacking for a few minutes.

"They're pretty traditional. Old-fashioned, I guess you could say. They were more disappointed than angry, mostly because they don't believe that someone can live off of their art. My mom had repeatedly reminded me that I was going to be making money by putting people through pain and ruining their skin," Emily chuckles. "But, _thankfully_ , they reacted worse to that than they did when I came out."

Alison nods her head and begins to sort the already unpacked items while replying, "My parents didn't react at all when I told them that I'm bisexual. At first I was surprised, but then I was bothered by it. I mean… I didn't want them to react badly, but I wanted _some kind_ of emotion. They just shrugged and went back to drinking their hundred dollar wine," she finishes, clearly disgusted.

Before Emily can reply, Alison is already onto a new subject; asking herself when she bought the soft, cream blanket that she just pulled out of a bigger box on the floor. They continue to unload the rest of the boxes separately before there's only one left — so they unpack it together while sitting on the unoccupied couch. Inside the box, there are scattered picture frames and trinkets in addition to a few books.

Emily picks up a frame and looks at the picture: one girl with dark brown hair and two blondes, one being Alison, laughing together in front of a dark building. She notices that it's a candid photo and also notices how happy Alison looks. She's on the way right with her arms around another blonde's waist, seemingly laughing, while a brunette is about to kiss the middle blonde's cheek. To top it off, the middle blonde girl is flashing a cheesy smile with one of her arms wrapped around Alison's shoulder and her other arm wrapped around the brunette's waist. It's a goofy photo, Emily thinks, and she smiles because Alison looks so damn happy and she's wearing the cutest smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Alison catches her and moves closer so she can see the photo.

"You just look so happy here. I like it," Emily looks at the other girl for a split second, only to return her attention to the picture.

"I like it too," Alison tries to stop herself from getting sentimental.

"Who are they?" Emily refers to the two other girls in the picture.

Alison points to the blonde first, "That's CeCe… well, Charlotte, but CeCe just stuck once we met," she moves her finger to point to the brunette girl on the left, "and that's Mona."

"They look fun to be with."

"They are, trust me. They're the closest thing I have to real family," Alison says in a tone that makes Emily believe that she's thankful to have them, regardless of any other situation.

"You'll probably be meeting them sometime soon," Alison warns. "Actually, do you want to come out with us tonight?"

Emily sighs, "I'd love to meet them, but I can't. I have work in the morning and you seem like a night owl," she glares as if she's reading Alison.

"And what makes you think that?"

"The fact that you came into the shop last night _just_ before closing…"

"So?"

"It was a Thursday night. Not many people stay out past ten on a Thursday."

"I'm not many people," Alison challenges with a tilt of her head and Emily looks at her — she _really_ looks at her. She's pretty different than the girl that she had met the night before. Sure, she still has that sassiness and attitude that she had last night, but now there's a softer side to her and it doesn't seem like it's out of desperation; they're genuinely enjoying each other's company.

After finishing the last box, the two relax into the couch and look around at everything that is now unpacked, scattered around the room. Emily pulls out her phone to check her notifications and sees that Hanna had texted her about fifteen minutes ago. She opens the text to read the message, shaking her head and slightly chuckling at what's written.

"Who's that?" Alison casually asks when she sees Emily shaking her head at the phone.

Emily quickly writes a reply to Hanna before turning to Alison and replying, "Just Hanna. She asked if she left her keys on the table."

"Who's Hanna?" Alison asks and swallows hard. She doesn't want to seem intrusive, but she doesn't really know anyone else who's a part of Emily's life aside from her parents; she's not sure if Hanna is Emily's sibling, or girlfriend, or—

"One of my best friends. We live together," Emily seems to ignore the slight bite in Alison's tone, not thinking anything of it.

"Does she often forget her keys?" Alison smirks, earning a look from Emily.

"Let's just say that I've packed lunches for her with a spare key taped to the salad container." Alison laughs hard at Emily's statement, more so because she knows that Emily is completely serious.

Before Emily can make another comment, her phone begins to ring in her hand. She furrows her eyebrows while Alison stares at her, wondering why Emily looks so confused. The brunette hits the green phone when she sees Brixton's name pop up, answering the call.

"What's up?"

" _Hey, Emily. I know it's your day off but can you stop by for a bit? Every other tattoo parlor in the state must have closed today,"_ Emily snorts at Brixton's blunt sarcasm.

"Um… sure. Can you give me a little to get there though? I'm not home right now," she says regretfully. She wants to stay at Alison's place for a while longer and hopefully know more about the girl that she's grown to admire, but Brixton sounds like he's already scrambling and Emily is all too aware of how crazy the shop can get.

" _No problem. I think I can hold down the fort for a little longer,"_ he laughs on the other line, _"See you soon."_

Emily hangs up the phone and sighs, earning a head tilt from the girl sitting next to her.

"I have to go down to the shop. Apparently it's swamped and Brixton needs some help."

"I didn't know that people had to work on their days off," Alison teases. "It's okay."

"I'll come back soon," Emily promises when she hears a slightly sad undertone in the blonde's voice.

"Who said that I want you to come back?"

"Fine, then I won't," Emily gets up and casually walks to the door. She hears Alison quickly following her like she really believes that Emily is leaving.

"No, wait…" she gets in front of Emily and guards the door. Emily doesn't speak; she waits for Alison to continue.

"Of course I want you to come back. Whenever," the blonde continues to guard the door. " _Please._ "

"Since you asked nicely," Emily winks when Alison rolls her eyes.

"Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

Alison's mind screams, " _Stop being cute_ ," but, outloud, she dodges and says, "I'm not used to people one-upping me. I don't get teased."

"Get used to it."

Alison moves out of the way of the door and allows Emily to pass. Before Emily opens the door, they stare at one another for a few more seconds, not wanting to say goodbye, until Alison leans in and kisses Emily on the cheek. At first, Emily is dazed and slightly confused, not knowing what to do. A million questions pop into her mind and a bunch of different thoughts, however she can't voice them out loud.

"Thanks for helping me today," Alison quietly answers one of them and smiles softly when she sees Emily's cheeks turn a light shade of red.

"Anytime," she semi-successfully answers as she pulls the door open and walks down the front steps. Alison watches her from the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame. Thankfully, due to the town being pretty small, taxis tend to linger around every corner, waiting for their next customer. Being in a small, compact town with a lot of businesses seems to be great for the taxi company due to a large amount of people who don't always feel like walking to their destinations.

Emily waits on the sidewalk as the vehicle finally comes to a complete stop. She opens the door and slides in, waving to Alison before shutting it. As the taxi drives off, she looks back to see Alison closing her front door. Emily relaxes into the seat and tries to sort through her thoughts and emotions as the vehicle makes its way towards No End Tattoo Parlor.

X X X

The rush of customers finally began to die down sometime between 9 P.M. and 10 P.M. Around seven o'clock, an even bigger crowd showed up at No End, some bearing their own designs in hopes that one of the artists would be able to take them. Unfortunately, the shop had to turn away plenty of people during the last several hours, however many of those people decided to schedule appointments in advance for their session. Brixton was extremely grateful that Emily had showed up, even more so because it was _supposed_ to be her day off. Emily repeatedly brushed off his gratitude, always quick to remind him that she's thankful for the tasks he's given her to accomplish. Though, at the end of the night, she had turned to him and said, _"You owe me one,"_ to which Brixton replied, _"You got it, Kiddo."_ That's become one of his favorite nicknames for Emily — that and "Neo" due to her neo-traditional tattooing style.

A few minutes before closing, Brixton had given Emily the O.K. to go home. Without much hesitation, she gathered her things, found a taxi, and headed back to her apartment. On the way home, Emily became dazed; she just watched out the window as the scenery passed. In an instant, she was in her apartment and couldn't even remember walking up the stairs. She dropped her keys on the table and made her way to the kitchen to grab some water before moping across the apartment into her bedroom.

Once her body hit the sheets, she was out like a light. All of the day's work had caught up to her in addition to those conflicting emotions from after she had left Alison's house. Well, they aren't exactly conflicting as much as they are confusing; Emily isn't sure where their relationship was going and, though she enjoys it, she wishes she could know more about the real Alison — the one she had seen today.

Emily suddenly wakes up to her phone chiming, notifying her that she's received a text message. She groans when she checks the time: 1:21 A.M. Before opening the text, she yawns and stretches, then realizes that she had passed out in the prior day's clothes. Emily taps her screen a few times and glares at her phone, trying to focus on the words in the text. Eventually, she reads Alison's name and the message. Although a few words are misspelt, Emily can make out the message just fine:

" _I'm not feeling too good."_

With this, Emily responds, _"I'll be right there,"_ before she stumbles out of bed and puts a grey hoodie on. She stops by Hanna's bedroom on the way to the front door to check if her roommate is home. She is, however she's already fast asleep, snoring loudly with one arm slung over the edge of the bed. Emily shuts the blonde's bedroom door and makes her way over to the bathroom in order to attempt to fix her hair a bit and brush her teeth. Once finished, the brunette finally makes her way to the apartment's front door and exits quietly.

While she walks down the stairs, she finds herself wondering why she's turning down sleep in order to take care of a girl that she's met fairly recently, but then she remembers the way she felt when she saw the picture of Alison smiling and radiating true happiness. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she promises herself that she'll do anything to make Alison smile like that more often.

* * *

 **So, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed Hanna's fun introduction, and I can't wait for you all to meet CeCe and Mona.**

 **Hint: Mona has been one of my favorites to write for, and the CeCe/Alison/Mona friendship is so refreshing.**

 **Anyway... I have a slight confession to make: the reason why you got this chapter earlier than Wednesday is because I actually wrote another two chapters when a few solid ideas came to me. Who knows... maybe even more chapter ideas will smack me in the face along the way and a few more two-in-one-week updates could bless your story alerts.**

 **Also, buckle up because the next few chapters (and, basically, the rest of the story) make this story quite a wild ride.**

 **Thank you all again and enjoy the newest PLL episode on Tuesday. (Praying that we see our favs interact a lot). In the meantime, send me questions, comments, or even just PLL theories if you'd like.**

 **P.S. I don't know where all of you are from, but I hope that everyone is staying safe considering all the unfortunate things that are happening around the world now-a-days. You're in my thoughts.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Long-ass note at the bottom of this chapter. That's all I can say.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

A few minutes of speed-walking pass by before a cab finally pulls over next to Emily. She had only gotten as far as a few buildings down the street, but she wasn't getting to Alison's fast enough. Initially, she had scoped out the street's view when she reached the sidewalk, hoping to see a taxi driving around. When she couldn't see any on the street or around the nearest corners, Emily decided that she had to move quickly and, just maybe, a cab would appear down the road.

Sliding into the seat, she thanks every higher power in the universe that a taxi picked her up. She enjoys walking, running, and being active in general, however there's just something about being awake after 1:30 A.M. that doesn't make her feel all too energetic. Additionally, yesterday's shift at the parlor kicked her ass so, clearly, she wasn't sprinting anywhere all too soon. But, on the other hand, this is _Alison_ ; her new… friend? Newly acquainted or not, Alison already has Emily going to great lengths to make her happy and make sure she's okay and, really, Emily is happy to be useful. It's in Emily's nature to protect and it always has been. Even when Emily was in high school, Hanna's mom would instruct her daughter to stay with Emily at all times when they would go to parties or school functions, not only because groups are better but because Emily's entire aura seemed stronger than anyone else's. A few times, Hanna and Emily had gotten into silly arguments when Hanna claimed that Emily kept scaring boys away from asking her to dance or hang out. The blonde had thrown a few verbal punches by saying things such as _"You're being a jealous friend"_ and _"You need to lighten up."_ In the end, Hanna would finally come to realize that Emily always wanted the best for her friends and, really, those high school boys weren't the best — and maybe no one ever _will be_ the best for her friends.

The taxi weaves through the partly-deserted streets, turning corners and switching lanes when needed. Emily fiddles with her phone in the backseat, partly due to worrying about Alison and partially because she has nothing better to do at the moment. The ride seems longer than it did the first time and she doesn't know how long it really takes, however she notices some familiar street signs and trees which indicate that she's finally close to Alison's house. She continues to flip her phone around as she wonders what Alison meant by _"I'm not feeling too good."_ Emily remembers that the blonde and her two other friends were supposed to go out last night (and _probably_ this morning), so she's fully aware that Alison is probably pretty intoxicated (as if the scrambled text wasn't enough of a clue), but she mainly wants to know if Alison meant physically or emotionally. The blonde may not give away much verbally, but Emily can certainly tell that Alison isn't content with her life and it _definitely_ isn't completely because of her ex-fiance.

The end of the ride must have gone by much quicker than the beginning because, suddenly, Emily is paying the cab driver and stepping out onto the sidewalk. She looks up at the same brick building that she entered the day before, now with a light shining next to the door and small outdoor fixtures making the front shrubs and flowerbeds glow. There are now blinds covering the windows, partially allowing some indoor light to escape onto the street in front of the building.

She quickly ascends the front steps and knocks on the door. After thirty seconds or so of waiting and hearing the sound of muffled voices through the thick door, it swings open to reveal a blonde, though it's not the blonde that Emily was expecting; it's the other blonde from the photo.

The taller blonde, CeCe, looks at Emily confusingly, while Emily mirrors her expression and feels pretty awkward for it. Before either of them can speak, Emily hears an unmistakable voice come from behind CeCe, further into the house.

"Is that Emily?" Alison calls in an unbalanced tone.

"Ooh. _The_ Emily?" comes another voice from inside the house.

CeCe turns her head towards the direction of the other voices and yells, "Hey! Why wasn't I told that _the_ Emily was coming?"

Suddenly, there's a loud crash that comes from inside the house and both CeCe and Emily's eyes grow wide before they're both rushing towards to see what happened. They end up in the kitchen with a giggling Alison and a broken bottle of wine while Mona watches on from the couch.

"I'm not cleaning that up," Mona declares in a flat tone as she continues to type away on her phone.

CeCe groans as she squats down and carefully picks up the bigger pieces of broken glass. Alison watches on and giggles harder as she leans onto the center island's countertop and buries her head in her arms. Meanwhile, Emily begins to _really_ wonder what Alison meant by her text; clearly her "she's drunk" theory was correct.

Emily, remembering that she had unpacked some kitchen supplies for Alison the day prior, moves to the other side of the kitchen and grabs a bundle of paper towels and a few small paper bags for the pieces of glass. She walks back over to CeCe and hands her a bag, earning an "Oh, thanks," as they clean up together. As they clean, Emily hears soft, passionate singing from behind her. She briefly turns around to see Mona tapping away on her phone while singing Zara Larsson's "Never Forget You," though no music is playing.

"Before you ask, she's always like this," CeCe smiles at Emily when she turns her attention back to the spill. Emily's eyes widen before she chuckles. She can tell why Alison loves them both so much; they both seem to share some of the same qualities that Alison displays.

"My best friend is the same way," Emily jokingly rolls her eyes as she tries to refrain from spilling all of Hanna's most embarrassing karaoke moments — well, if you count belting Ariana Grande lyrics while dancing in the living room as karaoke.

"Yeah… let's never introduce them to each other," CeCe laughs as she stands up with the bags of broken glass.

Emily follows her lead and walks over to the trash that stands next to an old door leading to the outside (probably existing as a second emergency exit), dumping the used paper towels into the bin followed by washing her hands in the sink.

When CeCe makes her way back over to a now-quiet Alison who still has her head buried in her folded arms, she speaks softly.

"Alison?" she rubs her thumb along Alison's shoulder.

In response, Alison groans and gently shakes her head. Emily stands on the other side of Alison, watching the girl shake her head a little more. When Alison finally lifts her head and blinks her eyes a few times, she begins to sway back and forth.

"Shit, Alison. I told you to slow down at the bar," CeCe scolds.

"Yeah she did," Mona mumbles from the couch, causing CeCe to roll her eyes while waiting for Alison's response.

"Okay," Alison blinks a few more times, though she's looking at the countertop.

CeCe looks beside herself; she looks exasperated which, turns out, she is.

" _Okay_? That's it?"

"Okay," Alison answers quietly. Emily watches her carefully, wishing she could read the girl's thoughts.

As CeCe shakes her head and walks away from the counter, Alison sways a bit more before she stumbles backwards, only to be caught by a prepared Emily.

"Are you okay?" Emily asks as she keeps a gentle grip on Alison's hip. CeCe looks on from the other side of the kitchen island, visibly conflicted.

"No," Alison whispers so quietly that Emily can barely hear. She shakes her head and turns slightly to bury her face in Emily's shirt.

She sways a bit more as she partly clings onto Emily's shirt. After a few seconds of standing still as two other pairs of eyes look on, Alison stumbles backwards again and, this time, Emily pulls the dizzy blonde against her before picking her up and carrying her over to the couch.

Emily places the partly-sleeping girl down on the soft cushions, making sure to set her down in a comfy position, and then sits down on the edge of the seat.

"I can see why Alison has taken a liking to you," CeCe comments as she moves to sit on the piano's matching seat. "You take care of her," she half-assumes, half-explains.

Emily doesn't respond; she simply looks towards CeCe and smiles as much as she can. She's thrilled that, clearly, Alison has mentioned her to the girls that she calls family, however she isn't all that happy about the current situation. Gone is the girl that she bonded with the day before.

"I wish you didn't have to take care of her," Mona shows sympathy with a sad smile.

"I don't have to," Emily looks back towards the disheveled, sleeping blonde. "I want to," she firmly states, hoping that they believe her. She's serious, yes, but what if Alison's best friends — no — what if Alison's _family_ doesn't think she'll stick around?

"I believe you," Mona locks eyes with Emily.

Emily nods her head in understanding and turns to CeCe who has a mutual understanding in her own eyes. Hesitant, maybe, but she definitely believes Emily as well.

"If it's not too much to ask… can you stay here for the night?" CeCe asks hopefully. "Mona and I both have morning shifts tomorrow," Mona grunts at CeCe's reminder.

"Um… sure," Emily replies as she remembers that she is supposed to go to work as well. She decides that she'll have to figure something out in the morning; Alison is more important right now.

And, with that, CeCe gets up from the piano's seat and motions over to the door so Mona will follow suit.

"Please, take care of her," CeCe turns back to Emily who is still perched on the end of the cushion.

"I will."

"We mean it," Mona lectures. "Don't make me regret believing in you. Regret doesn't look good on me," CeCe rolls her eyes at Mona again before pulling her out of the house.

Emily waits a few minutes after they leave before she stands up and creeps over to the kitchen. She reckons that she should probably gather some supplies for Alison, just in case she wakes up and needs some medicine or water immediately. When she walks into the kitchen area, three more bottles of alcohol catch her eye. She stands there, motionless and expressionless, for a few moments; she wants to dump it out and wash it down the drain but, in reality, Emily isn't all that keen on pushing the boundaries in their relationship yet and surely she wouldn't be able to find any reason for her actions other than "I wanted you to stop hurting yourself." Still, she debates the decision a few seconds longer, hoping some neon sign would pop up and tell her whether or not she should take the chance. After all, she'd be doing Alison a favor, wouldn't she? But, then again, what if Alison was doing just fine before Emily came along? — "fine" being the key word.

A soft noise comes from the couch behind her. The brunette turns around to see Alison in a new position: she's leaning over towards the back of the couch, now pressed against it, almost as if she was trying to cuddle the material. Emily smiles; she's cute, that's for sure — even when she's passed out with some of her blonde hair falling over her face.

She resumes her search for sickness (or hangover) essentials — assuming that Alison normally gets hungover. Pulling two water bottles out of the fridge, she places them on the kitchen island and then continues to search for Tylenol. When she can't find it, she makes her way over to the bathroom which is towards the back of the house, located straight past the stairs in the hallway. Due to Alison recently moving in, there aren't many different medicines or anything, for that matter, but luckily she finds a box of Tylenol stuffed into the corner of the bathroom cabinet. Emily grabs the box for good measure before returning to the kitchen. She passes the sleeping blonde while she walks back into the kitchen and, upon returning, she remembers the many times Spencer had offered her coffee when she was hungover after a big sleepover — it had worked wonders for her. Though she isn't sure if it'll help Alison the same, she looks around the kitchen for the coffeemaker that she had noticed the day before. Eventually, she finds it but, sadly, it hasn't even been taken out of the box yet. Deciding that reading an installation manual wouldn't be the quickest option to get Alison coffee in the morning, she settles on walking to find another cafe or popular gas station nearby once Alison wakes up.

Once the water and medicine are gathered, she debates on letting Alison sleep on the couch or bringing her up to bed. On one hand, if she sleeps on the couch, she'll be closer to the bathroom just in case she gets sick. On the other hand, would she even be able to make it to the bathroom anyway? Making a decision, she makes her way over to Alison and brushes a few pieces of hair out of her face.

"Alison, let's get you upstairs," she says quietly, earning no response at all.

The brunette tries a time or two more before she gives up on trying to wake the other girl. So, soon after, she slides her arms under Alison's body and picks her up again.

"You're lucky I'm just too determined for my own good," she grunts as she slowly climbs the stairs with Alison curled up into her chest, paying attention to where she steps.

Once Emily reaches the top of the stairs, she passes the small reading nook before turning left and walking towards Alison's now freshly-made bed; Alison had, most likely, continued to arrange and decorate once Emily left for work yesterday. The blonde girl in Emily's arms begins to stir a little, nudging her face further into her carrier's shirt as they advance closer to the bed. Finally, once next to the bed, Emily leans over and gently lays Alison down on top of the bedspread. Next, she pulls one of the multiple blankets out from underneath the girl's body and drapes them over the sleeping blonde. Initially, she had internally questioned if Alison's clothing seemed comfortable enough to sleep in, however pretty much dismissed the idea of getting Alison out of her clothes in _this_ kind of state — she's worried that it would cross some metaphorical line.

She begins to adjust Alison's body so she's at least slightly laying on her side — just in case. Although Alison didn't seem _way_ too far gone (after all, she had sent a moderately okay-enough-to-read text), Emily makes sure to position the girl's body so she'll be okay throughout the night. If you asked Emily her opinion on Alison's body language an hour prior, she would tell you that she thinks her state of drunkenness stemmed more from working hard the day before and little to no food than it did from the actual alcohol. With that being said, Emily is still disappointed that Alison seems to do this quite often.

After seeing that Alison seems as comfortable as she's going to get, Emily backs away and goes downstairs to grab the supplies that she had gathered beforehand. Once she's in the kitchen, it dawns on her that she should probably grab something in case Alison _does_ get sick quickly. She looks around the kitchen and doesn't find much aside from a few more small paper bags but she shakes her head; she needs something less… flimsy. Skipping over to the bathroom, she finds a bucket underneath the sink and decides that it's her best option.

When Emily finally gets to the top of the stairs, she feels like she's run a marathon, completely forgetting that it's now around 3 A.M. and she had just worked a pretty big shift at the parlor a little over five hours ago. As she sets the supplies down on Alison's bedside table, she looks at the girl snuggling into the sheets. Her face is flushed pink and her hair is messy, but she looks beautiful. Strangely, Emily feels the desire to hold Alison's hand and play with her fingers just to let her know that she's there, but instead backs away when she realizes that Alison could wake up at any second and, honestly, Emily doesn't want to scare her off already.

Once she backs away, she wonders where she should sleep. She promised CeCe and Mona that she'd stay and, hell, she's definitely keeping her word but she's just not sure where she'd be the most comfortable yet in close enough reach in case Alison needs her. Emily turns around towards the stairs and remembers the small reading nook across from the top of the stairs. Although it's only big enough to extend her legs partially, she figures that it's cushioned and better than the floor.

Walking over to the small bench, she looks out the back window and looks at Alison's backyard. Truthfully, she wasn't aware that Alison even had a backyard but, judging from the shape of the house and lack of many windows, it seems as though the back of her house is completely bare. She continues to peer outside, noting that Alison has a small fence to close off the space and the yard is trimmed perfectly. Emily shakes her head as she suddenly gets tired, though she turns to see a few books placed on the window sill: all of the Harry Potter books, in order. Emily laughs quietly — she's been meaning to watch the movies but she wonders if Alison would rant that the books are much better.

As she tries to get comfortable (and fails at first), she gets much more tired than before which, in turn, makes her frustrated; she wants to sleep and her body wants to sleep but obviously that's too much to ask for. After struggling for a few minutes, Emily finally finds a very comfortable position: she's on her side with her left arm propping her head up like a makeshift pillow, facing the stairs and partially facing Alison, while her legs are bent almost into the fetal position. After five minutes of forcing herself to relax, she finally drifts off to sleep.

X X X

Emily nearly rolls off of the bench for what must have been the fourth time in six hours. At first, she was completely comfy but, throughout the rest of the night, she began to feel small cramps behind her knees and one severe cramp in her left calf around 4:50 A.M. Overall, she's just glad that the night is over; her phone's clock says it's now 9:04 A.M., which is, surprisingly, only an hour later than when she usually wakes up. Right now, however, she isn't quite sure if she should thank her body clock for waking her up or be pissed that it won't let her rest longer.

She slowly extends her legs and places her feet on the ground, almost preparing herself in case her legs snapped off from the sudden movement after a night of sleeping as stiff as a board. Once she gets a solid feel for the ground, Emily stands up and stretches. Her back cracks first and she winces a bit, but ends up feeling so much better. The brunette looks over towards Alison's bed and sees that she's still asleep but in an altered position; she looks more peaceful than she did hours ago.

Although she doesn't want to leave Alison (and honestly she's a bit nervous to leave her alone, even for a few minutes), Emily knows that she should probably head out now to get them some coffee and breakfast. When she had been searching for water before she carried Alison upstairs, she noticed that there was practically nothing else in the fridge. Actually, there was _literally_ nothing else in the damn fridge; Emily's lucky that she even found water.

Walking down the stairs as quietly as possible, Emily rounds the final post of the staircase and heads down the hallway to the bathroom. After she finishes up with a makeshift version of her usual morning routine (normally, Emily would wash her face with her favorite cleanser), the brunette walks over to the hallway table and grabs Alison's keys. She doesn't _want_ to be weird and blatantly steal Alison's keys, but she also doesn't want to risk something happening to Alison while she's at the nearby Dunkin Donuts (she had found it on Google maps when she had checked the time), so she kicks her conscience in the ass and pockets the bundle of keys before closing the locked door.

X X X

The walk wasn't long. In fact, the trip was pretty short overall (taking a total of fifteen minutes to walk there, order, and walk back), but Emily's exhaustion says otherwise. Hours of partial sleep following a slight emergency situation and a surprise shift begin to take their toll on the girl as she unlocks the building's front door and sets Alison's keys back down onto the small table. She turns to the left and walks through the living room in order to place the bag of food and tray of coffees on the counter. Realistically, Emily expects Alison to start waking up after a few more hours of sleeping, but she wanted to make sure that there was food for when the blonde _does_ wake up.

After (unknowingly) daydreaming for a few minutes, Emily looks at her phone and realizes that she should probably message Brixton. Her schedule has her set to work today from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. but she _really_ wants to make sure that Alison can take care of herself if she has to leave. She quickly types out a message to her boss, hoping that he'll be willing to work in her time spot instead so she can work his shift: 1 P.M. to 6 P.M. If he can't switch, Emily's other options are to ask one of her coworkers if they could switch or fill in for her.

" _Hey, Brix. I was wondering if we could switch shifts today. I know it's a little short notice but something important has come up. Let me know. Thanks."_

Just as she's about to walk away from the kitchen island in order to go and check on Alison again, her phone starts to ring, which she quickly picks up.

"Hello?" Emily tries to whisper.

" _Emily Fields_ ," Hanna's voice stresses through the phone's speaker. " _Where have you been?_ "

The brunette wasn't exactly expecting Hanna to call this early; she figured that she would have more time to at least attempt to come up with a good lie. Yeah, of course she wants to tell Hanna what had really happened overnight, but she's not even sure how to explain; she doesn't even really know, herself.

"Something came up, Han," Emily offers as she rubs her temple.

" _Don't 'Han' me. Where are you?_ "

"I'm taking care of a friend."

" _A friend or a friend?_ " Emily can practically _hear_ Hanna's eyebrows bouncing up and down when she puts emphasis on the second "friend."

"I—" Emily gives up on trying to dodge the question. "She's… different."

" _Different different or just different?_ "

"Hanna, I have no idea what that means."

" _Would you say that… you don't know what the difference is?_ " Hanna lets out a loud, entertained squeak after she makes the pun.

Emily tries to mask her own smile as she threatens, "That's it. I'm finding a new roommate."

Hanna's laughter stops before she says, " _Will it be the girl that you're with right now?_ "

"You're relentless," Emily shakes her head, even though Hanna can't see.

" _I think you meant fab-u-lous,_ " Hanna sings through the phone.

"Why are you awake anyway? It's early…" Emily checks the time again, "…for you."

Hanna sighs, " _I know, but you-know-who woke me up twenty minute ago and now I only have an hour left until I need to leave,_ " she rambles, " _and that's definitely not enough time to comfortably sleep._ "

Emily laughs at Hanna's distress.

" _It's not funny, Em. I want to sleep,_ " Emily hears slight stomping noises in the background, most likely resulting from Hanna throwing a small fit.

"You and I both," Emily mumbles into the phone as she looks around the room.

" _Ooh, so she did keep you up last night?_ " Hanna assumes. " _Is that what you meant by 'She's different'?_ "

" _Hanna_ ," Emily warns. "I'm hanging up."

" _Fine, but at least tell Mystery Girl that I said hello,_ " Hanna sings through the phone again.

"We'll see," Emily mockingly sings before hanging up.

Ending the phone call, the dial screen disappears and Emily sees that Brixton had texted her back a few minutes ago:

" _Is this me "owing" you one? Sure I can switch. Works out because Alicia wanted to have a "date night." Whatever that is, haha."_

Emily smiles at the text. Brixton has always been somewhat of a reserved and rough-edged guy with plenty of tattoos but, when he had brought his wife to one of No End's fundraisers, he had a whole new personality; he seemed… soft and open to her ideas. Of course, naturally, his employees (Emily included) have teased him for it ever since. He doesn't get angry, not about that, really, but the reaction is always to smirk and play it off with saying, " _Don't you have work to do?_ " Emily has always admired Brixton and Alicia's relationship and how they are both when they're together and apart. She's even spoken with Alicia a few times while at the shop and, obviously, when Emily attended their wedding. Brixton and Alicia had invited all of No End's employees: Vincent, Antoinette, Berlin, and, of course, the team's newest addition: Emily. They had even invited some of the shop's most loyal customers and some of Alicia's own work friends from the local hospital. In fact, one of Emily's first conversations with Alicia was about how much Alicia's been valued by her workplace, however she still constantly gets nagged by patients about having dyed hair and tattoos; _"And sometimes I just want to say, 'Fuck you, I admire myself,' but then I remember that they have to live with their poor views and I don't. I feel better after that,"_ Alicia had ranted while they sat in a gallery's lounge, watching people bid for pieces put together by a bunch of different tattoo artists.

" _Of course not. This is just a small favor. I have to think of something better to make up for coming into work on my day off. Thanks though. Have fun,"_ Emily writes back.

Once she hits send, another text arrives, this time from Hanna:

" _Asshole."_

The brunette smirks at the message before putting her phone down and reaching into the paper bag, pulling out a bagel with cream cheese and gradually ripping pieces off while she eats. About ten minutes later, around 10 A.M., she finishes most of the bagel and decides to check on Alison. Truthfully, Emily had forgotten that Alison was there; the blonde was completely silent, not even snoring or turning in bed. She walks up a few steps until the bed is within eyesight and, noticing that Alison hadn't moved from her previous position, she heads back downstairs to kill some time by checking what's on TV.

Right as she hits the power button on the remote, she prays that the TV's volume is under control and not on a freakishly high level like Hanna sometimes leaves it. Thankfully, the sound comes on moderately soft and clear as well as the high-definition picture. She curls up against the corner of the couch, praising Alison for placing the television in such a nice spot: right above the fireplace, pretty much directly across from the shorter side of the L-shaped couch.

Flipping through the channels, she finally chooses to watch SyFy's serial killer movie marathon, however she hopes that Alison will wake up before she gets through a single movie; she wants the blonde to be awake before she heads to work. As her thoughts start to scramble due to her mounting exhaustion, she partially dozes off, trying to remind herself that Alison could wake up at any time. Ultimately, she ends up failing to keep herself awake and falls asleep.

X X X

Time passes quickly and Emily wakes up, slumped against the couch, listening to some girl being murdered on TV. She scrambles for her phone, hoping that it isn't too late and that she hasn't missed work. Checking the time, she sees that it's only 11:43, meaning that she should probably start heading back to her apartment around 12:15 in order to quickly shower, charge her phone a bit, and head out to work.

Emily sits up further and rubs her eyes, followed by running a hand through her hair. She sighs and then remembers that Alison is, most likely, still upstairs and, hopefully, still asleep. Heading up the old stairs, Emily hears the sheets rustling following by a long, distraught groan.

" _Ew_ ," Emily tries not to chuckle at the disgust laced into Alison's voice.

The brunette makes it to the loft's landing and turns the corner to walk towards Alison's bed. The blonde is laying flat on her back with both hands over her face, rubbing her eyes and groaning pretty damn dramatically. Alison continues to rub at her eyes, not realizing that Emily is standing by the loft's railing.

"That bad, huh?" Emily's voice makes Alison jump.

"When did you get here?" Alison asks as she sits up and catches her breath, shaking her head lightly as she runs a hand through it. "And yes, to answer your question."

"I've been here."

" _Since…_?" Alison drawls as she expects a better answer.

"Let's see," Emily pulls her phone out of her pocket to check the time, "since around two in the morning."

Alison puts her head in her hands once again, grunting when the light finally disappears. Emily moves over to Alison's bed and sits on the edge.

"Alison, how much did you have to drink last night?" she asks carefully.

The blonde takes her hands away from her face and opens one eye at a time, squinting each afterwards. She stares at the floor, almost as if it'll give her an answer.

"Honestly, not much. I remember having a few shots and maybe some wine, but not…" she trails off. Emily wonders what she's trying to say but doesn't push once Alison looks down at her hands, playing with her own fingers.

"I believe you," Emily says softly, looking at Alison who is trying to avoid her gaze. "Alison, I know what people are like when they've been drinking more than they've been breathing. That wasn't you. I figured you were only hungry or tired," she smiles at the blonde who finally looks at her. "Moving that piano must have been _pretty_ difficult for someone your size."

The other girl laughs, "I told you… the movers put it in the right spot."

Alison's laughter dies down as her head starts to hurt even worse than it did when she first sat up. She looks at the table next to her and sees the Tylenol, water bottle, and bucket.

"Ah, yes. Tylenol and water…" she chuckles again, "the best breakfast."

"Nope. That's downstairs," Emily rolls her eyes at Alison's sarcasm.

"What? Emily, you didn't have to do that."

"It's nothing big. Just a bagel and coffee. I wasn't sure if you like coffee or not but my friend used to always give me some to cure my hangover," she explains. "It works pretty well."

Alison smiles softly as Emily explains. She watches the other girl talk about the most random things with such passion and animation, admiring how she can make almost any topic into a brighter conversation.

"Thank you. That was really sweet," Alison reaches for Emily's hand. "Emily, where did you sleep?"

Emily laughs and then groans at the mention of last night's bed of choice. Alison arches an eyebrow at the outburst before joining in on the laughter when Emily nods her head in the direction of the small reading nook.

"Seriously?" Alison glares with a smirk.

"Well, I didn't want to sleep downstairs just in case you needed…" Emily trails off, "…something," she recovers although Alison knows fully well that Emily meant if she needed _her_.

"You could have slept with me," Alison suggests. "I mean… I know I was probably a nightmare last night, but…"

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer sometime," Emily smirks. When Alison blushes slightly and tries to look away, Emily speaks again. "You should really eat though. Are you okay to walk downstairs or do you want me to bring it to you?"

"I'll get it myself. I should probably go to the bathroom and wash up a little as well. I feel like shit," Alison dramatically whimpers as she bends forward and buries her face into the comforter. Emily chuckles and rubs the other girl's back, tending to her partial dramatics and actual headache.

"Just relax today, okay, Alison?"

" _Mhm_ ," Alison mumbles into the blanket before sitting back up a second later. "Wait, where are you going?" she asks with big eyes and a pout.

Emily matches her pout, not wanting to leave the girl that's becoming a big part of her life. "I have work. I already switched shifts so I could make sure that you didn't need anything when you woke up," she bites the inside of her cheek.

"Once again," Alison says in a flat tone, "you didn't have to do that."

"Maybe I wanted to."

"Maybe?"

Emily smirks again before returning to seriousness, "Yes, I did. CeCe and Mona asked me to stay here overnight but, honestly, I would have even if they didn't."

Alison swallows hard and her eyes flicker towards Emily's lips before she blinks and looks away, trying to focus on something else. Emily watches the other girl, trying to make sure that she's really okay before she leaves to get ready for work.

"Thank you again," Alison says as she begins to feel a bit reserved.

"I hope we get past this 'thank you' thing someday," Emily jokes, hoping that Alison will look at her again. It works.

"Oh, we will. Someday you'll move a mountain for me and I won't say shit," Alison jokes as well, "except maybe 'You're blocking the sun.'"

"You _really_ think I'd move a mountain for you?"

"Yes," Alison dares Emily to deny it. In response, all Emily does is narrow her eyes.

"Alright, I have to go now," Emily says as she gets up.

"No, don't go," Alison tries to pull the other girl back into her previous position but fails, earning an entertained look from Emily. "Fine. At least let me walk you out again," Alison rolls her eyes as she gets out of bed.

The blonde stands up and steadies herself, her headache making everything more difficult. She grabs the Tylenol and water off of the bedside table and follows Emily down the stairs, walking slowly but steadily. They make it to the front door and Alison looks towards the television, watching some serial killer stalk a group of teenagers as they run down the street.

" _This_ is what you were doing while I slept?" Alison chuckles as she judges the movie.

"I wasn't really watching. I ended up falling asleep ten minutes after I turned the TV on."

"The nook was that bad?" she smiles.

Emily gives her a horrified look, "You have no idea."

"Well, my offer's still on the table," Alison raises an eyebrow as she reminds Emily.

"I am _not_ sleeping on the table," the brunette tries to keep a serious face but ends up failing.

"Even you know that was a bad joke."

"Hey, it made me laugh."

"Because you know it sucked!"

The two stare at each other some time, not wanting to go their separate ways. Unfortunately, Emily's phone says 12:16, meaning that she's _already_ leaving Alison's one minute later than she had promised herself.

"Can you stop by after work?" Alison questions with a hopeful smile.

"I suppose I could," Emily teases again. "Yes, I can," she says after Alison gives her another look. "Do you need anything for when I come back?"

" _Mm_ ," she looks at the floor and thinks for a moment. "Some soup would be nice. My stomach feels funny."

"I'll pick up some soup then. Take care while I'm gone, please," Emily pleads.

" _Okay_ ," Alison says as she opens the door for the other girl.

Emily walks down the front steps and, once again, a taxi driver catches sight of her and drives towards where she's standing. He arrives quickly, letting Emily climb into the backseat before pulling away from the sidewalk and driving back towards Emily's apartment.

X X X

Her shift went by pretty quickly; it was different for her since, normally, she wouldn't be working until 6 P.M. When she had stepped into the parlor, Berlin was sitting at the front desk, most likely going through client lists.

" _Look at you coming in late on a Saturday! Welcome to my shift!"_ Berlin had shouted as he clapped his hands together, his British accent becoming more noticeable than usual.

After that, the rest of the day had flown by. Emily had found herself leaving the shop around 6:05, quickly walking over to the nearby store to buy some soup and other essentials, and walking back towards her apartment so she could freshen up. When she made it up to the apartment, she walked in to find Hanna watching TV with a bowl of popcorn.

" _I thought you had to do internship stuff today?"_

" _Funny thing… you-know-who woke me up and then she didn't even need me! That's not okay,"_ Hanna looked bug-eyed at Emily who walked into the bathroom to fix her hair.

" _Didn't you work early today? And what's in that bag? Ooh, it's Mystery Girl, isn't it?"_

" _I switched shifts. Soup and stuff. Her name is Alison,"_ Emily had answered the questions in order.

" _Alison, huh. When do I meet her?"_ No answer. _"Don't ignore me."_

And with that, Emily breathed out, _"I'mnotsureokaybye,"_ took the bag, and ran out. She had to walk past a few buildings again since it was nearing 7 P.M. and many people were getting out of work. While walking, she thought about buying a bike and being a little bit more mobile on her own, but then lost her train of thought when a taxi finally stopped beside her, letting her get in and direct them to her desired location. The ride went fast as well, surprisingly, considering that she was nervous yet excited to see Alison again. It's weird, in Emily's opinion, that she's grown so fond of this girl who can act so messy yet have such a light personality on any normal day.

Breaking out of her thoughts, the vehicle takes it's final turn, soon pulling up to the building that she's spent many hours at within the last two days. Emily thanks the driver and pulls the brown grocery bag out of the taxi's backseat as she walks towards the front steps, advancing quickly and turning the doorknob to enter.

"The deliciousness has arrived…" Emily announces before chuckling, "and the soup, of course."

She walks through the living room and into the kitchen area, placing the bag of groceries onto the center island. The brunette pulls out some of the groceries as she announces what she bought, ignoring the fact that Alison isn't even in the room.

"Alright, now, you had absolutely nothing in your house this morning, so, in addition to the soup," she drawls, "I bought some basic snacks and ginger ale, just in case it helps your stomach."

As Alison walks into the kitchen, Emily is still unpacking the bag of groceries, not noticing that Alison is wearing a casual dress and heels. Once the brunette looks up, her mouth drops before her eyebrows scrunch in confusion.

"Where are you going?"

"Out for a bite to eat with CeCe and Mona," Alison replies nonchalantly. "Do I look good?" she arches a brow seductively. Though Emily wants to blurt out "holy shit," she can't get over the fact that Alison is going out after what happened last night.

"Do you not remember how you felt after last night? Was that also a," she uses air quotes, " _bite to eat?_ " Emily's pissed, really.

"I figured going out would take my mind off of it," the blonde fixes one of her stud earings.

"Why'd you invite me over if you were just going to go out?" Emily gives Alison a look of betrayal which doesn't go unnoticed.

"Look, I'll be back soon. I just want to get out of the house and, _hopefully_ , feel better. You're invited too, you know. I just didn't think you'd want to."

" _Unbelievable_."

"What was that?" Alison glares.

"I said that you're unbelievable," Emily says, exasperated and suddenly tired.

"I'll come back if I start to feel gross again, I swear," Alison promises, though Emily rolls her eyes and puts her hands on the counter. "What's the problem with that?"

"You don't feel well! You woke up and made it sound like trucks were slamming into your temples repeatedly. Why can't you just stay and let me make you soup or something? I'll even move that damn mountain for you, if you'd like," she makes a reference to their conversation from before, though she's completely serious and it's one of her last attempts at making Alison change her mind. Alison chuckles at the proposal and shakes her head. "What's so funny about that, Alison?"

"I'm a twenty-three year old woman and I don't need to be babied. I know I should stay in but I'm choosing to go out tonight and live a little."

Emily sarcastically laughs, "I've watched you " _live a little_ " each night I've known you. I've gone out of my way to make sure that you're okay and you've even texted me when you didn't feel well. I even picked you up sickness-essentials in hopes that you'll feel better and, maybe, I thought that'd be enough to make you happy for the night."

"I didn't ask you to make sure that I'm okay, Emily. You did that on your own. I'm sorry that I texted you and, seemingly, gave you the impression that I need you as a crutch. If you don't know how to respond other than coming here and making sure that I'm okay, then don't respond," Alison slightly shouts. "If you don't want to take care of me, then don't. I don't need you to," she shifts her jaw and lifts her chin a little.

Emily's eyes grow wide but she doesn't back down. Actually, she responds quite quickly.

"Of course I'm going to make sure that you're okay and of course I'm going to take care of you. Fuck, Alison. If it's a reason to see you then obviously I'm going to show up," Emily holds her ground.

"Really? I thought you only came to admire the decor," Alison rolls her eyes and Emily damn near loses it.

"You just don't get it."

Alison groans in frustration as she pinches the bridge of her nose, "I just don't get what? What am I not getting now?"

"Why should I try to take care of you if you don't try to take care of yourself?" Emily says quietly.

"I just told you that—" Alison gets cut off by Emily.

"No, I don't care if you tell me that I don't need to take care of you. I _know_ that I don't have to, I do, but for some reason, I can't stop. I don't want to stop taking care of you, Alison, for whatever reason," Emily explains. "And if roles were reversed, I'm sure you'd try to take care of me just the same, even if you deny it now," Alison stares at the other girl as she continues to speak, jaw still clenched. "I don't know about you, but I'm happy that you stumbled into my life and I want to see how we'd be if we were both… happy and sober," Emily finishes, voice tired and strained.

"I am happy," is the only reply that follows.

Emily's eyes grow wide again and she loses herself for a moment, trying to find something else to look at; anything that will calm her down and keep her from leaving. In the end, she raises her voice a bit.

"No, you're not!" she shouts. "You've been in and out of here since you arrived, you seem to avoid everything regarding your family and past, and you even bought booze before you bought real food," Emily stops to breathe. "That's not happiness, Alison."

"Because I can't stand the fact that my parents use their money to buy my affection, Emily," Alison shouts back, however quieter than Emily. "It's like I'm living in a brick house made up of guilt and synthetic love. They don't give a fuck if I fail or succeed. They only care if I _love_ them. So, hey, if that's all they really care about then all I care about is living it up with the people who genuinely love me and, if you're one of them, then either you're with me for the ride, or…" Alison trails off, biting her tongue, "…or I don't know."

She doesn't want Emily to leave, not one bit, but she just doesn't know how to sort things out right now. Truthfully, she knows that she's already said some things that she can't take back (even if she _really_ wants to), and she also knows that she can't say what was really on her mind the entire time: " _I know I have a problem but please don't leave me._ "

"It's your choice, Emily," she gives the other girl a softer, more desperate look. "You can stay here while I go out or you can leave. I won't question your decision, just like I hope you won't question mine." And, with that, Alison gives Emily one final sad smile, grabs her keys, and shuts the door to her place.

Emily leans her elbows on the kitchen island, massaging her temples as she wonders what the hell just happened. After a few minutes, she grabs her phone and opens FaceTime, hoping that Hanna will pick up quickly. Luckily, Hanna opens the call while she's snacking on some Pringles.

"Mystery Girl boring you already?" she chuckles on the other line.

"No, she left."

"Uh oh. You don't look all too happy. What happened?"

"I fucked up, I suppose."

"You're Emily Fields. You don't fuck up," Hanna says. "Okay, sometimes. But everyone does and I can assure you that you don't do it often," she waves a chip at the camera.

"Do you remember all those times when we argued because I was too protective over you?"

"A few of them, sure. There weren't that many and, honestly, I know I was wrong for most of them."

"I'm not so sure," Emily sighs and looks down at the countertop.

"Em, you know that I don't admit that I'm wrong often so, when I do, you better believe me. I love you for protecting me and caring about me for all these years. I'm not easy to put up with."

Emily raises her eyebrows and looks away from the camera at Hanna's realization.

"I saw that," Hanna gets closer to the camera. "What happened though?"

Emily shakes her head, "It's complicated to explain right now. I just… care and I think it's hard for her to deal with because she's never really had that. Her family isn't really… family."

"Surely she has friends though."

"Oh, definitely. She has two best friends that she calls family and I met them last night. They care about her a lot and I can tell, but they keep inviting her to go out when they know that she gets carried away," Emily rants as she remembers how CeCe and Mona looked at her when Alison was passed out.

"Maybe you should talk to them. You know, without crossing a line so Mystery Girl doesn't get pissed at you."

"Yeah, it's a little too late for that," Emily says regrettably.

"You left here not even forty minutes ago and she's already pissed at you? That's a record," Hanna tries to lighten to mood.

"Tell me about it. This isn't how I pictured the night going."

"So how _did_ you picture the night going?" Hanna quirks an eyebrow and pays close attention to Emily's body language through the phone.

When Emily gives her a "seriously, not the time" look, Hanna changes the subject.

"Is that her kitchen, by the way?" Hanna asks with wide eyes.

"Indeed it is. The rest of the place is nice too," Emily says as she hits the button that switches the camera's view. "It's echo-y."

"Holy shit. You could fit a full-grown giraffe through one of those windows."

"Tell me about it," Emily chuckles as she switches the camera around again.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asks with a sad smile.

"I will be. I think I'm going to go and relax until she gets back. Maybe I'll watch some TV or sketch out some new ideas. Thanks, Han."

"I love you, Emily Fields," Hanna yells in an obnoxious voice.

" _Ew_ ," Emily winces as Hanna glare at her. "I love you too, Hanna," she laughs into the phone before ending the call.

Though her thoughts are still _completely_ jumbled and most likely won't be clear anytime soon, she decides to lay on the couch and turn the TV on. Seeing that the SyFy marathon is still going on, she places the remote next to her once she settles on the correct volume. The current movie being shown is House of Wax, one of Emily's favorites.

Before she gets absorbed into the movie, she removes her hoodie and pulls out her phone so she can write out a text to Alison:

" _Did you get there okay?"_

Immediately, Emily sees the small chat bubbles, indicating that Alison is typing a response.

 **A** — "I always do."

 **E** — "Just making sure. Sorry."

After a second of debating whether or not she should respond back, she decides to send another text.

 **E** — "Have fun. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

 **A** — "I will."

The brunette purses her lips and puts her phone down; she isn't quite sure if Alison meant "I will have fun" or "I will let you know if I need anything," but she isn't going to question it.

Once Emily's comfortable again, her phone resting on the cushion next to her, she wonders if Alison is going to come back drunk and disorderly. Though she doesn't _want_ to think the worst, she does, which makes Emily sigh deeply; she assumes that the night is going to be long again so, eventually, she decides that it's best to take another nap.

X X X

Emily had fallen asleep pretty quickly; it isn't very difficult to force yourself to sleep once you've been up periodically for the last twenty four hours. She stretches like she normally does, always hoping that she never finds any knots in her muscles because, basically, that would just suck. Looking down at her phone, she presses the round button underneath the phone's screen.

When she sees that she has two texts from Alison and three missed calls, she gets confused.

 **A** \- **(8:40 P.M.)** — "I'm sorry too, by the way."

 **A** \- **(9:51 P.M.)** — "I need to talk to you."

Not realizing that it's now 10:47, she replies to Alison's last text.

 **E** — "Okay, I'm still at your place."

Within a few seconds from when she sent the text, her phone starts to ring; Alison is calling. Even more confused, she answers.

"Hello?"

" _Emily, it's CeCe,"_ the girl sounds panicked on the other line.

"Where's Alison?"

" _We don't know. Mona and I left the bar for a second to go to the bathroom and she was gone when we came back."_

"Why do you have her phone?" Emily asks as she quickly grabs her hoodie.

" _She gave it to me before because she didn't want to keep checking it,"_ CeCe sounds regretful. _"We're at a bar across town. It's called Street's Tavern, I think."_

"I'm on my way. Keep looking for her," Emily sternly says before she twists the inside lock of the front door and slams it shut.

* * *

 **And this is where shit begins to go down (and this is where my author update gets long-as-shit). My deepest apologies that you'll have to wait a whole week for the next update, and please don't kill me for it. (Just remember that I wouldn't have brought you here for Emison if I had any sinister intentions). What do you think happened to Alison? I'm curious. Also, what about CeCe and Mona? Why are they inviting Alison out if she just keeps getting plastered? I definitely want to know your opinions on their involvement with Alison's issue.**

 **How about the way Emily takes care of Alison so willingly? And the fact that Hanna just knows that Emily is feeling the feels… and CeCe/Mona's first deep conversation with Emily about their best friend (sister, more like).**

 **Who would you side with in the Alison/Emily argument? Emily because she's rightfully protecting this troubled girl, or Alison because it's not exactly Emily's business just yet? I'm torn, personally; I think Emily has earned the right to insert herself into Alison's choices (or at least her opinion), but I also think Alison is correct when basically saying that she can make her own decisions, even if they're shitty.**

 **Fun fact: I originally wrote the angsty dialogue as part of a five-page play for theater class. For my professor, however, I left it as a cliffhanger; for you lovely readers, you'll definitely get answers.**

 **For those of you who are wondering if Aria & Spencer will appear in this story sometime… the answer is yes. Not often (and it'll be quite some time before they appear), unfortunately, because they both live some ways away, but they certainly will. In addition to other canon characters (which I don't want to spoil too much), you'll be meeting Emily's co-workers sometime, which I'm excited about because I was able to shape their personalities on my own.**

 **Next, for those who follow "Lost in Progression" (found on Delacruz00's FF page), please don't worry about the story never getting finished. I know the updates are severely scattered and come in extremely slow, but we have the entire story planned out so it'll be complete at some point. Our apologies for the delay.**

 **And how about yesterday's episode of PLL? [SPOILERS IF YOU DIDN'T WATCH YET] Did anyone else ignore those Sabrina/Emily scenes hardcore, or was that just me? Bitchy Alison is back and she's better than ever (*insert "yaaas, queen" GIF here*)**

 **Anyway, this was an extremely long author's note and I apologize for it. I hope to see you next week and don't forget to review, message me, Tumblr-message me, etc.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: So, it was pointed out to me that I've had my private messaging off for the last three chapters, whoops. It's all fixed now. Talk to me!**

 **So… I know that it's not Wednesday, but I'm updating today for two reasons: 1) I had a bad day yesterday and your reviews make me feel better, and 2) there's no PLL this week, so I figured a double-update would be nice. — I'll rephrase what I said before (while side-eying myself for being so impatient): Wednesday's are the days to look out for, definitely, but some Sunday's may hold surprises.**

 **Also, I enjoyed your responses from Chapter 3 so much and I'd like to thank you again. M** a **ny of you had similar opinions on the Emily/Alison argument and I thank you for sharing. I think Alison and Emily both have their different demons… Alison's forming from her personal past and her decision-making and Emily's from her need to protect (since it's not just a desire to take care of someone). In Emily's mind, she's not being a pushover; she's being cautious and it bothers her that she can't find a way to break through Alison's walls. In Alison's mind, she knows she's making shitty decisions, but she's grown to making these choices repeatedly, so it's become an endless and dangerous cycle.**

 **Alright… back to the story and, by the way, this is one of my favorite chapters for a few different reasons, so… read for yourself and meet me at the bottom for a long note (as per usual, and I'm sorry for it).**

* * *

Alison keeps walking away from the bar. Truthfully, she doesn't know what compelled her to just get up and walk out of the building, but she did and she's glad that she did; she needs to breathe for a few minutes — alone. Alison loves CeCe and Mona to death but she couldn't keep sitting there, trying to hold a conversation, while Emily was off doing whatever. After Alison had sent Emily a text saying, _"I'm sorry too, by the way,"_ she had expected a response (or at least severely hoped). When no response came, the blonde's stomach had dropped and her thoughts began to consume her. _Is she ignoring me? Did she end up leaving my house? Is she done with me?_ Quickly, she started to panic, however no one seemed to notice; Alison's good at that: making people believe that she's fine. Swallowing hard, she had sent another text: _"I need to talk to you."_ It was more of a plea and Alison was all too aware. In fact, she was a bit worried that she'd sound _too_ desperate, but she wanted Emily to know that she needed her, even if she couldn't directly say it. Once no response came after that, it felt like she was being suffocated, and her mind's self-blaming grew louder with taunts and worries.

When she had first stepped into the bar, she mentally lectured herself for leaving Emily after a pretty bad argument, then ordered a drink to forget about it. The problem, however, was that she didn't find herself wanting to drink much after that glass; it was new to her. What she _did_ find herself doing was checking her phone repeatedly. When CeCe and Mona asked where Emily was, Alison answered a little too quickly, _"I don't know, guys, and I really don't care."_ At that, the two other girls shared nervous glances with a little bug-eyed look from Mona as she sipped her drink. Within the next hour or so, Alison had slid her phone across the bar in the direction of CeCe, saying, _"I can't deal with looking at that every two seconds. Take it."_ This earned another round of shared glances between the older blonde and dark-haired girl.

So, when the other two finally got up, Alison walked out and didn't look back. She isn't drunk, no, but she's definitely feeling a little something, even if it's due to the mix of stress and a single drink. As she walks, she finds a small bench on a sidewalk, tucked into the side of one of the small businesses. Although she can see the bar from her view, her body is tucked away enough so no one can see her as easily. She stares at the ground and a single tear falls even though she's been trying to hold herself together in _that_ aspect. Shifting her feet and clicking them together a single time, Alison takes a deep breath as she folds her arms across her stomach, almost hugging herself; if she could go back in time, she would but, sadly, she knows that's impossible. The blonde knows she's said such bad things to Emily — things that she didn't even mean. She sits on the bench and curses herself for being so hard-headed. Another tear falls out as her head thumps from the mounting stress and anxiety of the last multiple hours.

"Well, look who it is."

Alison's heart drops and her eyes slam shut at the sound of his voice.

"I figured I'd find you near one of your _many_ favorite places to mope," Elliott sneers. When she doesn't acknowledge him, he continues, "You know, Alison, I spoke to your parents the other day. They were so happy to see me. Said that it was a shame that you couldn't look past what happened between us. I agreed," he recalls, mostly speaking to himself, "however, I told them that you aren't worth it. You never were," he laughs — not darkly; he laughs like he just told a funny joke.

"Then… an interesting thing happened. They agreed with me," Elliott frowns, though he's only mocking the broken girl before him.

Alison doesn't answer — she just stares at the ground, shivering and quietly crying.

"And I felt so sorry for you, dear," he continues as he bends down to be eye-level with Alison. "I know how much you dreamt of reuniting with your family."

Alison slightly pushes him as she gets up and starts walking back towards the bar as smoothly as possible in her heels and light-headed state. Once she reaches halfway between the bench and the bar, Elliott catches up to her _just_ at the same time that CeCe spots Alison. When CeCe catches sight of the man stalking Alison who has tear-stained cheeks, she walks faster with Mona following, walking just as quickly.

Elliott speeds up in order to round Alison and stop in front of her. Not even a split second after, CeCe is carefully wrapping her arms around Alison and Mona is creating a human shield, standing between the huddled girls and the dark-haired man.

"Look at you, Alison," he partly shouts at the crying blonde, not minding Mona, "falling apart because of me."

CeCe's grip on Alison tightens a bit, making sure the girl is secure — protecting her.

Alison lets out a shaky laugh through her tears, "I was falling apart long before you."

CeCe winces a bit and checks on Alison as Mona gives Elliott hell a few feet away.

"Ali, are you okay?"

"I want to go home," Alison bites her bottom lip and sobs.

"Okay, sweetie, we'll get you a taxi and—"

"No," Alison shakes her head and breathes in. "I want to go _home_."

CeCe looks at Alison and opens her mouth although nothing comes out; she has no idea what Alison is saying, though she so desperately wants to.

Alison begins to cry harder and nearly shouts as her face looks completely… empty.

" _Home_. I don't know. I just want to feel like I'm home. _Please_ ," she pleads at CeCe who tries to figure out what to say.

"Where's home, Alison?" the taller blonde struggles to understand how to help her broken best friend — well, _sister_ , more like.

As Alison continues to shake her head and cry, Emily pulls up in a taxi and gets out quicker than ever before; on the way here, she really considered buying that damn bike she thought of before. At first, the brunette completely ignores Mona in a full-blown bitching match with a dark-haired man; she goes straight to Alison and CeCe, standing on the shorter blonde's other side, making sure that she knows she's there.

"Are you okay?" Emily asks sternly while Alison is looking at her. Unfortunately, although Alison is looking in Emily's direction, she's not looking at her; she's barely even there at all.

" _Alison_ ," she tries again.

"I want to leave," Alison swallows her tears and slams her eyes shut for a long moment.

Suddenly, before CeCe or Emily can coax Alison into a passing taxi, Elliott yells past Mona again, "I'm glad I found a stronger woman with a level head," earning a louder yell from the short brunette standing in front of him.

"Hey, _buddy_ , don't you dare talk over me because I promise that I will rip your precious, _precious_ love life and fancy company or _whatever-the-fuck_ to shreds. Don't you dare go near Alison and don't you dare even think about speaking to any one of us because I am fully capable of starting a fire with objects you've never even heard of," she rants, never stuttering once.

"Who is that?" Emily swallows hard as she looks at CeCe out of the corner of her eye, already dreading the answer.

"That's Elliott," CeCe whispers back, regretting the answer that she gave Emily.

As Emily releases Alison and tries to lunge towards Elliott, CeCe stops her quickly while holding Alison's hand.

"Don't, Emily. He's not worth it," CeCe stresses as Emily still eyes Elliott, now two bodies away. "Stay with Alison. Mona can handle him. Trust me," CeCe finishes and Emily turns back towards Alison who is watching the ground, fresh tears brewing.

"Ali," CeCe passes Emily and bends down so she can look into Alison's eyes. "Emily is going to bring you back to your place, okay?" CeCe stares at Emily who stares back, a mutual agreement of sorts.

"We'll stop by once we're done taking out the trash," she informs with a now-flat tone.

In any other scenario, Alison would snort at CeCe's comment but, as of now, Alison feels emotionless. Even now, with Emily's arm around her while they walk towards a cab, Alison doesn't feel anything — she can't and she doesn't want to.

As Emily and Alison continue to leave the scuffle, Elliott yells, directing his comment at Emily this time, "Yeah, have fun with that pathetic excuse for a woman."

While Emily has to keep herself from turning around and spearing Alison's dumbass ex-fiance, she hears CeCe shout, "Mona, stop!" followed by the sound of a struggle and Mona yelling, "She's so much better off without you."

Finally, a taxi stops for the two walking away. Emily opens the door for Alison as she slowly climbs in, nearly pressing herself all the way up against the other door. Emily chews the inside of her cheek, mentally hating herself for not arriving sooner or, actually, letting Alison leave at all. Throughout the ride back to Alison's house, Emily stares at Alison and hopes that she'll turn around and be completely okay again — but she knows that it's not going to happen for a while now. She reaches for Alison's hand, only slightly brushing her pinky against Alison's. When Alison doesn't take her hand right away, Emily starts to feel severely rejected, though she knows Alison is hurting. A few minutes pass before Alison's hand inches over to Emily's where it lay in the same spot as before. The blonde holds onto Emily's hand and takes a deep breath, tilting her head back against the headrest and closing her eyes.

The vehicle comes to a stop in front of the brick building. Emily pulls the handle and opens the door, making sure to be close by if Alison needs some help getting out as well. Alison looks at Emily as she steps onto the sidewalk; she bites her lower lip, looks towards the ground, and then passes the brunette. They walk up the steps and Alison finds her keys, shakily inserting the metal piece into the keyhole and turning the knob. She pushes the large door open and steps inside, allowing Emily to follow.

Alison walks a bit further and tosses her keys onto the small hallway table before turning around and standing still in the middle of the hallway, facing the other girl. Emily looks at her with sympathy — some may say _too much_ sympathy.

"Why don't you go upstairs and change? Get comfortable, Alison," Emily softly says, not wanting Alison to think that she's bossing her around. "I'll get some water for you. It'll be down here when you want it."

The blonde continues to look at Emily for a moment before she finally gently nods her head and listens, ascending the stairs slowly. As she nodded her head, Emily could swear that she saw more tears forming at the bottom of Alison's eyes.

Once Alison is halfway up the stairs, Emily sighs and walks towards the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a couple of water bottles. She places them on the countertop directly in front of the two kitchen stools. Just as she pulls out her phone, Emily sees headlights shining in front of the house, indicating that another vehicle is pulling up. She places her phone onto the piano's surface, speed-walks over to the door, and announces to Alison that she'll be right back. As she steps outside, she hears Mona ranting to CeCe.

"I could have destroyed him, you know. Why didn't you let me? You and I both know that we could hide a body if we wanted to," she rants, "that is… if there was anything _left_."

The two stop walking up to the house when they see Emily descending the front steps.

"Where's Ali?" CeCe questions, desperate to know if the other blonde's alright.

Emily sighs heavily, "She's getting changed upstairs. I got her some water and told her to come down when she's ready."

"I can't believe he was practically _stalking_ the poor girl. I swear," Mona scowls.

"He _was_ stalking her. He probably still is," CeCe looks at Mona and stresses.

"I'm going to go check on Alison," the older blonde tries to walk by Emily, though Emily speaks in order to make her stay.

"Can we talk?" Emily looks at both of them and the two look at her skeptically.

"Why did you invite her out tonight?" Emily narrows her eyes a fraction and tries to understand.

"Surely you're not blaming this on us," Mona jumps in.

"No. What? No! That's not what I meant," Emily defends, shaking her head violently. "You saw how she was last night after going out and you seemed pretty unhappy with it. Both of you," she looks at them individually.

"We can't just _not_ invite her," CeCe dryly chuckles.

"If you know about her struggle with alcohol then why do you take her to bars? That's not helping," Emily hisses but tries to stay quiet.

"Because we don't want to exclude her, Emily. She's always been with us and it's not all that easy to stop including her. We've tried and she didn't take it too well," CeCe explains. "She assumed that we didn't care about her anymore even though we didn't invite her _because_ we care. Now, whenever we invite her, she says that she'll be okay but then she leaves and won't listen to a damn thing we say."

"Have you tried talking to her at all? Like… sitting down?" Emily tries.

"Of course we have," Mona cuts in quickly, "but, in case you haven't noticed, she doesn't listen to just anyone. She's been listening to you though, so you must be pretty special."

"She didn't listen to me today, though. She told me that she doesn't need me," the taller brunette looks towards the street.

"What did you expect her to do? Did you expect her to say, 'Shit, you're right,' and walk over to the couch?" Mona scrunches her eyebrows together and shakes her head at Emily, "That's not Alison. She has too much pride for that."

After a few beats of silence between the three girls, CeCe speaks up again.

"Look, we know that we contribute to this and we don't want to. It's difficult, okay, but right now… Alison needs us. All of us. Tonight had nothing to do with her drinking habits," she looks at both of them before walking past Emily and through the door.

As Mona and Emily follow suit, they walk in to see Alison sitting on one of the kitchen stools, holding her water with one hand and holding her head with the other as she leans on the countertop. While CeCe continues to walk over to Alison, Mona pulls Emily aside, Mona pulls Emily aside after a minute or so, both standing next to the couch.

"We know you mean well, Emily," she says. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I believe that you want to take care of her."

While Mona talks, Emily continues to watch Alison's body language as CeCe tries to speak to her.

"I just hope you know that we want to take care of her as well," Emily turns to look at Mona who is now smiling sadly as she continues to explain. "It's just hard to exclude someone that you love."

Emily nods her head and tries to understand. She really does know that they want Alison safe and happy, but she can't wrap her mind around the thought that they'd openly invite Alison to places where she wouldn't be safe from her " _coping mechanisms_."

"I'm not trying to come in and tell you guys where you can and cannot hang out with her. That's not it," Emily whispers. "I just hate seeing her like this. Honestly, I'd probably hate to see anyone like this day in and day out."

"Even that asshole you met tonight?" Mona raises an eyebrow.

"He doesn't even count as anyone."

"I don't know what she's told you, Emily, but her family really did a number on her for a huge chunk of her life. For a while, she couldn't function at all. We could tell that she was just... lonely," Mona swallows hard as she remembers the countless nights consisting of violent sickness after Alison had wandered off to a bar alone — more than once, mind you. "Then, once she met Elliott Rollins… she seemed so much better," she cringes, "but look where we are now."

"I don't know what happened between her and her family or her and Elliott aside from the cheating. I don't know anything…" Emily looks around the room with distant eyes.

"It's not my place to say. I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you but that's definitely her story to tell when she's ready," the shorter girl shakes her head at the situation.

When Emily stays silent, Mona tries to provide some comfort.

"I know that you only met a few days ago, but she hasn't stopped speaking about you. I think you're the only thing keeping her grounded right now."

As Mona's words sink in, CeCe stands up straight and walks away from Alison after saying, "Let me know if you need anything, babe."

Alison remains in her spot at the kitchen island, still leaning with her head in her hand.

"Are you good to stay here again?" CeCe directs the question at Emily. "If not, I can call out of work tomorrow and stay."

"I can stay," Emily confirms. "The shop is closed tomorrow and I want to be here. I just hope she doesn't mind."

"Don't hold that against her, Emily. She's not all that emotionally open and lashing out is her only sure-fire protection. I'm not defending what she may have done or said but just… keep an open mind," CeCe practically pleads as she looks at Emily with soft eyes.

"Here," Mona says, holding out Emily's phone for her to take, causing Emily's eyes to bug out as she silently tries to figure out when Mona took her phone.

"Stop panicking. I took it off of the piano and put our numbers in it."

Emily cautiously reaches out and takes the phone from Mona.

"You're welcome," the shorter girl whispers before walking past CeCe, the older blonde following her out the front door.

Once they leave, Emily locks the door — an added protection in case Elliott shows up for round two. She shuts off the outside light before turning back and going over to sit next to Alison on the second kitchen stool. She stares at Alison for a few minutes, silence consuming the room second by second. When Emily doesn't stop staring, Alison speaks up while still staring at the counter.

"You don't have to stay," Alison coldly says.

"I know I don't, but I thought I should."

"You shouldn't."

"Why, Alison?" Emily's brows furrow; she doesn't understand this hot and cold attitude.

"Because I can't deal with this right now," Alison shakes her head and keeps her voice flat.

"Deal with what?" Emily's eyebrows are still furrowed.

"Anything, Emily. Anything!"

"I'm not leaving you."

"I don't need you here!" Alison shouts as if she was talking to the kitchen island, slapping her hands down onto the surface.

"I don't believe that," Emily says with a shaky yet calm voice.

"I don't care what you believe."

"Fine then," Emily says, finally frustrated. "Turn your head and look at me. Stop staring at the countertop and tell me that you want me to leave and stop caring. You can go back to your life before we met, doing whatever you want."

Alison doesn't lift her head or move at all, really, but Emily sees new tears splashing against the kitchen island, pooling gradually.

"I don't know why you're so hellbent on not letting me in, Alison. I don't know what he did and I don't know what your family did, but that's fine. I won't make you speak to me about it," Emily speaks to the blonde with a firm voice before speaking softer. "Just know that I'm not him and I'm right here."

When Alison finally looks up and turns to Emily, she starts to cry even harder, causing Emily to instantly get up and wrap her arms around Alison. They stay like that for a few, Alison sobbing hard into Emily's t-shirt while Emily rubs circles along Alison's back and tries to provide whatever comfort she can.

"I know I'm fucked up," Alison cries into Emily's shirt, her voice muffled a bit.

"You're broken," Emily corrects, "but that's _okay_."

Alison cries harder and shakes in the other girl's arms while Emily tightens her hold on the blonde.

"Please don't leave me," she gets out between sobs.

Emily sighs, "Not even if you leave me first."

The embrace continues as Alison's cries die down. She sniffles and releases Emily's shirt from her hands which she clasped onto at one point. Alison moves away and Emily sits back down on the stool, drawing circles on Alison's hand which rests on the island.

"I'm a handful," Alison closes her eyes and bows her head in defeat.

"I have two hands," Emily's corner lip turns into a small smirk.

"That's cheesy."

"But accurate," Emily says in a slight sing-song voice until she regains a more serious tone. "Alison, I can't help but ask… what did he say to you tonight?"

Alison shakes her head, "He told me that I'm a pathetic excuse for a woman and that my family favored him and still do, then he said I'm not worth it. He chuckled as he honored himself as the thing that completely destroyed me. The rest I just tried to block out."

"Is he the reason?" Emily asks.

"He's not the only reason why I cope the way I do, no."

"Do you really think that drinking is coping?"

"Usually, yes. Lately, no," Alison squints her eyes and a few more tears fall. "My heart and my brain are telling me two different things and I can't tell which one is lying."

"Then listen to what I'm telling you, instead," Emily holds her hand while Alison looks at her with fragile eyes.

"You are worth more than this entire world's existence. All of you. From your tears," Emily strokes Alison's cheek with her thumb before moving her hand to the side of Alison's neck, tickling her quickly and earning a choked out laugh, "to your smile," Emily tilts her head with a small smile of her own.

"You're worth more than you give yourself credit for. Fuck anyone who tries to convince you otherwise. They don't know a damn thing and, maybe, they just can't see your value," she reclaims her smile at the blonde who's crying again, "but I do. I see you, Ali."

When Emily finishes, Alison sniffles and wipes at her eyes, smiling when Emily squeezes her hand in reassurance. Both of them feel something — a weird, new, electric type of energy. Well, in all honesty, both Emily and Alison know that they're falling for one another but, with that said, neither of them want to capitalize on whatever's going on between them right here, in this moment; Alison's hurting and Emily doesn't want to take advantage of that.

"Please stay with me tonight," Alison whispers. "I don't want to sleep alone."

Emily nods softly, giving Alison a sympathetic look; she's still a bit upset from before (and that's understandable), but she knows that Alison needs something more than a hug and a "You'll get better." She need to be _cared_ for, and it'll be a task since the blonde seems so guarded, but Emily believes it'll be worth it; she thinks that Alison deserves to feel the warmth deriven from being loved and not the hot feeling as a result from drinking alcohol.

Once Alison seems a bit better, Emily stands up and goes to the bathroom, getting ready to sleep. Alison waits at the kitchen island, still stuck in her thoughts; she's happy that Emily isn't still super pissed for earlier although she still feels guilty — plus, she knows that no one (not even Emily) could completely forget the words that were said before. She also knows that she has a lot to learn about both herself _and_ Emily, but she's hoping that she can learn quickly and vividly. People always excuse her and say, _"You have a rough past, it's okay,"_ but even Alison, herself, knows that it's no excuse. No one deserves to be treated poorly for something that someone else did.

Alison shakes her head again and takes another sip of water, hoping that it'll cleanse her of all worries and regrets.

"Are you sleepy?" Emily's voice breaks Alison out of her thoughts.

"Mhm," Alison looks to the ground; she wants the day to be over.

"Come," Emily extends her hand so she can bring Alison over to the stairs.

Nearing the stairs, Emily chuckles softly and looks at Alison who is confused.

"At least I don't need to carry you up the stairs tonight," Emily smirks.

"You… _carried_ me?"

"I did."

"I wish I could remember," Alison sighs, disappointed in herself.

Emily exaggeratedly sighs, wondering why she said anything. She moves closer to Alison, holding out her arms and hoping that Alison will accept the offer.

"Come here," Emily impatiently motions with wide, expecting eyes.

"What?" Alison raises an eyebrow.

Instead of responding, Emily scoops Alison up — identical to last night. As Emily carries the other girl up the stairs, she dramatically groans.

"You better not try to make this a daily thing."

"We'll see," Alison chuckles.

Emily reaches the top of the stairs and continues carrying Alison over to the bed, plopping her down onto the sheets.

"The ending could use a little work," Alison smirks as Emily takes off her hoodie in order to get comfortable for the night.

Emily shakes her head at Alison and rolls her eyes. She smoothes out her t-shirt while thanking herself for choosing to wear comfortable shorts earlier. Once ready for bed, Emily rounds the bed and crawls under the covers on the side near the loft's railing (Alison had quickly claimed the other side in case Emily decides to shove her off of the bed during the night).

Once Alison knows that Emily is comfortably situated, she scoots under Emily's arm and cuddles up to the brunette, however Emily doesn't exactly know where to lay her arm so, eventually, she just lays it on the bed behind Alison; she doesn't want to cross any boundaries.

"Em," the other girl's voice is extremely quiet, "why didn't you leave tonight? I would have."

Emily sighs, blinking a few times while her eyes search the room; she isn't sure how to explain herself.

"I… don't know, honestly," she swallows hard. "I debated on leaving, at first. I also almost followed you through the door, but I didn't want to argue anymore. I felt tired."

"But why didn't you?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Try, please," Alison pries.

Emily clears her throat but doesn't speak; she internally debates whether or not she should be completely honest with the other girl. She _wants_ to be, obviously, and she thinks that, if she does open up to Alison, then maybe the blonde will open up to _her_ , but it's not exactly easy for Emily either. She doesn't have the worst past, no, but that doesn't mean that her past relationships (friendly or otherwise) hadn't been rocky or unhealthy — because a lot of them _were_ unhealthy, and many of them deeply hurt Emily. In the end, her sincere words had pushed a lot of girls away, but wouldn't lying do just the same? She became torn in every scenario, honestly, which ended up stressing a few more relationships — and she's _still_ conflicted.

At first, due to the extended silence, Alison thinks that the other girl is just going to ignore the question and maybe even mutter a goodnight before falling asleep, but then she finally speaks.

"I just thought…" she takes a deep breath, "if I left today, I'd be taking care of myself," she shifts her jaw and Alison feels it, slamming her eyes shut when a wave of guilt hits her.

"But I _know_ that I'm fine, and I know that, yeah, I need to make sure I'm okay," the brunette continues, "but would I really be okay living with the inevitable guilt if I left and something happened to you tonight? And something _did_ happen tonight."

"I'd just rather you take care of yourself, Emily. I'm not your responsibility," Alison raises her head to look at the other girl, her eyes glistening with some unshed tears. "I'm not saying that I don't appreciate everything you've done, but I'm…" she trails off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"Who says I can't take care of you while taking care of myself just the same?" the other girl responds with a sympathetic look. "Alison, I'm not one to walk away from someone who clearly…" she bites her inner cheek, not wanting to offend the blonde girl.

"You can say it," Alison's voice is barely audible; she isn't angry or frustrated — not with Emily, at least.

"I guess I'm just stubborn in some weird way. I don't want to leave you, because I know you need someone."

"But I left you," is Alison's regret-filled response, bowing her head back into Emily's shirt.

"Yeah, you did," Emily doesn't bother covering the hurt in her voice. "And I'm not going to lie to you… I still feel very rejected because of it."

Alison swallows hard and a single tear falls onto the other girl's shirt; she didn't mean to make Emily feel that way, but it's not like she thinks things through anymore — it's been this way for a while now, so it's sort of a go-to move.

"Do I make you feel any happier than alcohol does?" her voice slightly cracks and that's when more tears fall from Alison's eyes.

"Please don't think that you don't make me happy," Alison's voice breaks and she sucks in some air, grabbing onto Emily's right hand which now rests on her stomach, the other still resting behind the blonde's body.

"Then why'd you leave me to go drinking? I'm trying to understand, Ali."

"I know," the blonde sniffles before continuing, "but alcohol has been my comfort zone for so long now, Emily. When they asked me to go out… I knew you said you were coming back, but who's to say you'd follow through?"

"Last night, I stayed here to make sure you were okay," Emily slightly huffs. "Why wouldn't I come back?"

Alison doesn't have an answer for that, so she bows her head again before trying to explain further.

"I guess I figured that there's always the possibility of you walking away that I kind of… _pushed_ you there, myself," she chews her bottom lip and stares over the balcony railing. "With drinking, alcohol is always there, and it'll _always_ be there. Sadly, people aren't always there."

"But look where we are now," Emily's tone is soft and she plays with Alison's fingers. "I stayed for you. I'm not 'people,'" she quotes.

"I really just didn't think that you would, I suppose," she breathes out.

"And how do you feel now? Do you still think I'll leave?"

The other girl swallows hard and her eyes dot around the room; she, unfortunately, still believes that Emily won't stick around and, in her mind, maybe she shouldn't. Maybe Emily would be better off if she left, and maybe if she found someone much more stable. Alison's eyelids slam shut at the thought, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip even harder.

"I'm going to change your mind, Alison," the brunette speaks up once more, understanding that silence is often the most impactful answer.

Alison, lying attached to the other girl, doesn't know what to say anymore. She _wants_ to tell Emily that she believes her, and that she knows she'll stay. Due to Alison's past, however, she can't do that; honestly, she's been dragged back and forth by so many people that she'd probably be considered to be one of the most broken people. Surely, falling into a deep well of liquor didn't exactly help the situation, but who can think clearly when they're being emotionally fried by those who are supposed to care? One thing's for certain: Alison really cares about this girl. She doesn't always know how to show it or explain herself, but she has a deep admiration for Emily and, if she's being honest, she's nervous. What if Emily _does_ leave? What if they fall together and the brunette can't stand it anymore? What if Alison hurts her?

Emily, on the other hand, breathes hard; she's a bit frustrated and maybe a little upset, but she's more conflicted on how she's going to prove to Alison that she's trustworthy. She understands that it's difficult for Alison to let people in, noting the fact that she's been pretty closed off since they've met, but what's it going to take? When Alison left following their argument, Emily emotionally cursed at herself for acting so… whipped; she knows that, sure, maybe it wasn't the healthiest move, but no one had seen Alison's body language aside from the two of them. She looked… _scared_ and conflicted — almost like her legs were walking her through the door while her eyes were desperately pleading for help. If Alison really wanted her to leave before, she would've said those words — at least, that's how Emily looks at it.

As Emily continues to think, Alison shifts her head a tad, partly pulling down the neckline of Emily's t-shirt and exposing part of her tattoo. It takes a minute for the blonde to notice but she finally does, moving Emily's shirt a little more to see the intricate lines that cover part of her inner left shoulder, trailing onto her back.

"What is it?" Alison whispers as she continues to look at the small area of linework.

"It's mostly on my back," Emily returns the whisper, swallowing hard as Alison follows the connected lines with her fingertip. "It's a rose surrounded by leaves, groups of crystals, and a feather."

"I like it," Alison continues to deliberately trace the lines.

"You can barely see it," Emily tries to argue but it barely comes out; it's almost as if she's only mouthing the statement.

"I still like it," Alison smiles softly as she watches Emily struggle, tracing the lines even slower.

Emily looks around the room, trying so hard to focus on something other than the girl who's doing her best to torture her. Her thought processes have come to a screeching halt for the time-being, and Alison is attempting to push the day's not-so-positive memories out of her mind. Though Emily can't manage to find something else to focus on after a few more seconds, Alison eventually stops her ministrations and glances behind her. A moment later, Emily feels the other girl's hand gently take her left arm, guiding it to rest near her hip and intertwining their fingers. Before she falls asleep, the last thing Emily remembers is Alison nuzzling further into her side.

* * *

 **If you're curious as to what Emily's shoulder-back tattoo looks like, just take a peek at the story's cover photo. I designed it on Paint Program along with several floor plans for the most prominent buildings in this fic (AKA Alison's house, No End, and future locations).**

 **Last chapter, maybe it seemed like Alison didn't care about Emily's feelings when she ditched her, but what about now? Do you think Alison's being cautious as well, in her own way? Or maybe she's just being too pessimistic? Eventually, you'll see that she's been controlled and belittled for a huge chunk of her life, and it's really messed her up.**

 **For those of you thinking that Emily is going to be a bit too… soft… for this entire story, I'm happy to say that Emily actually has a very solid backbone in this fic; she'll find a way to stick around without letting Alison be too powerful — a happy medium, of sorts. Additionally, you'll be reading about Emily's backstory within the next few chapters, so Chapters 3 & 4 may become more whole after that. With that being said, I think that her need to protect is almost like her own addiction, of sorts; she's only known Alison for a few days and yet... she is so invested in helping this girl. It's her learned personality, absolutely, and it's a reoccurring theme here. **

**Anyway, about Elliott's entrance… how was it? Writing it was super fun because I love writing villains. He's quite the dirty man… and he'll be back. Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis will show up at one point, as well. I wasn't lying when I said that it'll be a roller coaster.**

 **As for next chapter, it'll be much fluffier, which is sort of a relief after two rough updates.**

 **Any questions or comments, just review or PM me (now that it's available). Otherwise, enjoy your PLL-free week (like that's even possible) and I'll see you on Wednesday, my loves.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Okay, I'll be the first to say... I hate PLL-free Tuesdays, and yesterday was extremely boring for me.**

 **But, today (actually, a few minutes ago), I finished up this fic's last chapter AKA Chapter 20. It's definitely bittersweet, I've got to say, but I'm happy with it (and this story in its entirety).**

 **I'm happy to bring you another update, however, so here you go! I'll race you to the bottom.**

* * *

The night passed by quickly. After falling asleep cuddling, the two eventually ( _somehow_ ) broke apart, leaving Alison to wake up a few hours into the night, rolling over to cling onto Emily again; she wrapped her leg around Emily's as she draped one arm over her stomach, burying her face back into the crook of the other girl's neck and she smiled softly. Emily, though, didn't mind one bit. In fact, at one point when morning was just about arriving, the brunette partially woke to find the other girl facing away from her, all the blankets bunched around her body. Emily had smiled at the time, dubbing Alison as the "cover hog." As her eyes became heavy again, Emily moved closer to Alison, wrapping her arm around the blonde's waist, and intertwining their fingers as they spooned.

Alison's dream begins to fade out as she turns in the sheets once more, facing the other side of the bed — Emily's side. Her eyelids flicker open and she focuses only to find no sign of the brunette that had been laying with her all night — or had she been there at all? Alison sits up, running her hands over her face as she tries to figure out if last night had just been a dream all in itself or if Emily had actually spent the night. The blonde panics for a few minutes as she struggles to remember if last night was just a very vivid dream or not. Finally, everything that Emily had said as well as done floats back to her; Alison remembers smiling after she had been crying for what felt like hours, being carried up the stairs and tossed onto the bed, and she _definitely_ remembers cuddling up to Emily.

With a bit of newfound relief, she slowly gets out of bed and walks over to her closet so she can find some new comfortable clothes to change into after taking a shower. Once she picks out a nice pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt, she walks down the stairs, expecting to find Emily in the living room or kitchen area.

"Emily?" she calls out as she turns the corner to peek into the kitchen.

No answer; Emily isn't anywhere to be found.

All too quickly, Alison's thoughts begin to consume her. She blames herself, thinking that she should have known that Emily would leave — Alison would leave too, honestly. It'd be too much for anyone to handle, she believes.

Alison shakes her head as she makes her way into the bathroom, placing her clothes on the vanity's surface and turning the shower on. She undresses slowly, taking deep breaths due to feeling the weight of her own thoughts; _"You're so fucked up,"_ they say, _"and Emily deserves better."_ Although she's dealt with these kind of thoughts for most of her life, the notion that Emily left her because of how messed up she is strikes a nerve within the blonde and she's having a hard time not breaking down.

"She wouldn't want this to break me," Alison tells herself as she takes a deep breath. "She's taking care of herself. You'll be okay."

Once she finishes in the shower (and trying to mend her own emotions), Alison pulls the fresh clothes on and fixes her hair so it'll gradually dry in a messy fashion. She opens the door and takes a few steps into the hallway as the front door flings open, revealing Emily who bears a tray of two coffees and a bag of food.

"Good morning, beautiful," Emily smiles when she sees Alison standing in the hallway.

Alison just stares at her, almost like she's seen a ghost. She's happy to see the brunette, certainly, but she's also a bit… surprised? She stands there, mouth agape, while Emily places Alison's keys down onto the hallway table.

"Pretend you didn't see that," Emily bites her lip and shuffles into the kitchen, causing Alison to follow slowly.

"It's pretty chilly out. Dark, too," Emily remarks as she sets Alison's food in front of one of the kitchen stools. "The forecast says it's not going to rain though," she continues as she stands on the other side of the island, across from the stools.

When Alison still doesn't reply and only stares back, blinking occasionally with her eyes squinting a bit, Emily gets worried.

"Ali, what's wrong?" Emily slightly panics until the blonde seems to snap back into reality.

"I—" she tries, "I didn't think that—"

Alison shakes her head (mostly at herself) and takes a deep breath before forcing a smile.

"It's nothing," she says as she walks over to the center island and sits down in front of the muffin that Emily had bought for her.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, genuinely enjoying each other's company. Meanwhile, Alison gets sucked back into her thoughts, though she now finds the strength to say, _"Fuck off,"_ to those rampant voices.

"I slept so well last night," Emily comments nonchalantly, examining her coffee cup.

"We should do it again sometime," Alison replies as Emily blushes a tad.

"I'm shocked that you didn't shove me off the bed at all," Emily smirks as she takes another sip of coffee.

Alison rolls her eyes, "Keep teasing me and I will," she raises her eyebrows at the other girl who seems to shut up after that.

As Emily finishes her food, she walks over to the trash bin and tosses out the crumb-covered paper. Walking back over, she partially leans on the countertop and looks at Alison.

"Did _you_ sleep well?" she asks with genuine curiosity.

"I guess…" Alison answers as she slightly leans over closer to Emily, looking into her eyes, "except for the fact that _someone_ was taking up most of the bed."

Emily narrows her eyes, "Well _someone_ was basically on top of me the entire night."

"Are you complaining?" Alison quirks an eyebrow.

Emily smirks in response.

"You already said that you slept good, so it couldn't have been _that_ bad," Alison matches Emily's smirk.

"Yeah, your bed is _extremely_ comfortable," Emily challenges.

"That's definitely not what you meant."

Emily smirks again and backs up from the island, now leaning against the back wall's cabinets.

"Admit it," Alison demands with a smile.

"Admit what?" Emily blinks innocently as Alison finishes her food and leans further over the island's surface.

"Admit that you enjoyed sleeping with me," she raises her eyebrows, expecting the admission quickly.

As Emily is about to open her mouth to answer Alison's demand, her phone lights up next to her, vibrating on the countertop with a FaceTime invitation from Hanna. Emily debates on answering the call or not; she doesn't want to interrupt her and Alison's day together but she knows that her blonde best friend doesn't like being left in the dark, and since Emily was having a rough time the day before, she's most likely just trying to check up on the brunette.

"Who is it?" Alison asks with a frown.

"It's Hanna," Emily says, thumb hovering just above the green icon.

"Answer it. I want to meet her," Alison smiles as her mood changes, still remaining seated across from Emily.

As soon as Emily answers the call, Hanna is already talking.

"Miss Fields!" she sings. "Did you and Mystery Girl make up yet?"

Alison arches her eyebrow from where she's seated.

"Um," Emily starts, "yeah, Han, she's—"

Hanna cuts her off with a clear evidence that she's already had a coffee or two, "Good because I've never seen you so torn up over someone. You must really—"

" _Care_?" It's Emily's turn to cut Hanna off as she looks at Alison who is still seated across from her, tilting her head slightly with a smile, "Yeah, definitely."

Alison stands up and walks over to where Emily remains, across from her previous seat. She pushes Emily over so she can be seen by the camera, smirking.

"Mystery Girl, huh?" she asks Hanna.

"Not so much a mystery anymore, I guess," Hanna snickers. " _Emily_ ," she whines, "why didn't you tell me she's so pretty?"

"Yeah, Emily," Alison looks at the brunette beside her, half-expecting an answer.

"In my defense, I never told Hanna anything," Emily makes a face.

"And it was rude as hell," Hanna interjects.

Suddenly, Alison grabs Emily's phone and focuses the camera on her face only, looking at the screen and talking to the girl who looks back at her.

"Hanna, I have a question about Emily," Alison asks the other blonde over the FaceTime call, laughing when Emily tries to snatch the phone away.

Emily gives up and groans; there are millions of things that Alison could potentially ask Hanna.

"Alright," Hanna says devilishly, giving Alison her full attention. She visibly shifts in her seat, ready to answer.

Alison turns her head slightly and looks at Emily who is shooting her a glare, then makes a clicking sound with her tongue before facing the camera again.

"So," Alison speaks, "can you list Emily's tattoos?"

Emily rolls her eyes and Alison chuckles.

"She's just so determined to make me believe that they're ' _private_ ' but she doesn't seem like a private tattoo kind of person," Alison side-eyes the girl near her while wearing a small grin.

Hanna chuckles and mumbles something under her breath which both girls on the other end hear, Alison blushing and Emily's eyes growing wide.

"Have you seen any of them yet?" Hanna finally asks with great enthusiasm.

"Well, partly. The one on her back that continues onto her shoulder area," Alison eyes the brunette who tenses up when she remembers the feeling of Alison tracing the piece's linework before they finally had fallen asleep.

Hanna tilts her head a bit, still looking at the camera, "And how'd that happen?"

She begins to bounce her eyebrows during the slight accusation and Emily rolls her eyes at the girl she's known for most of her life.

"We were just cuddling, Han, calm down," Emily leans into the camera's view.

"Oh, hi there, Em," Hanna flashes her a big, cheesy smile and Emily walks away again. "Okay, so, where was I?" she directs towards Alison.

"Tattoos," Emily drones in the background.

"Right," Hanna recalls. "In addition to that tattoo which, by the way, is my _second_ favorite, she has an upside down triangle on the inside of her right hip symbolizing her zodiac sign's element or whatever," she shakes her head as she looks past the screen, trying to remember what Emily had told her.

"Water, Hanna. _Water_ ," Emily reminds.

"Be nice," Alison gently scolds Emily.

"Yeah, Emily," Hanna sticks her tongue out even though she can't see the other girl.

Alison shoots Hanna a look; they act like siblings.

"Next, she has a dragonfly on the back of her neck which I'm sure you've never seen because she wears her hair down when she wants to impress someone," Hanna rambles.

Emily groans and leans against the kitchen island while Alison bites her bottom lip.

"Is that it?" she asks Hanna whose eyes grow wide.

" _No_! You haven't heard about my favorite one yet," she clasps her hands together in amusement.

" _Ugh_ ," Emily buries her face into her arms that are now folded on the counter. "Please don't tell her the story," she pleads with Hanna.

"Of course I'm going to tell her the story. What the hell?" Hanna is already laughing as she recalls what happened. "Towards the end of senior year, our other friends Spencer and Aria ended up not being able to hang out with us like we had planned. Really, I don't even remember what they were doing that was so important—"

"A college campus overnight," Emily cuts in.

"Whatever. Anyway… Em and I hung out anyway, obviously. We had planned to just lay around and watch movies but, _clearly_ ," Hanna shakes the phone as she talks animatedly, "the night became way more exciting when I challenged her to a MarioKart tournament."

Emily groans again as Alison is absorbed into the story.

"First round, she won fair and square but I wasn't exactly on my game just yet. You see, it usually takes me a few rounds to warm up," Hanna explains, "but I beat her in the second round anyway because some _beautiful_ human-being launched a blue shell just at the precise second."

"That's the round that threw me off," Emily scowls, remembering the exact moment when she was hit with that blue shell before her kart flipped into the air and Hanna flew past her, crossing the finish line first.

"After that, I looked at Emily and made a proposition…" Hanna giggles, "Best two out of three and the winner is allowed one request or dare—"

"And I should have known right then to quit while I was ahead," Emily cuts in again.

"And you won?" Alison directs at Hanna.

"No," she says, earning a confused look from Alison. "The power cut out just as we were completing the last lap of the tie-breaking race. Apparently, there was a huge storm outside and we weren't even aware," Hanna shrugs.

"So what does that have to do with your favorite tattoo of Emily's?"

"I'm not finished," Hanna says impatiently, earning an eyeroll from Alison and a tight-lipped smile from Emily. "To break the tie, I suggested that we race from the driveway to the end of my street. Em was obviously quick to agree because, well, she isn't all that out of shape, you know?"

Alison eyes Emily up and down, fighting the urge to smirk in front of Hanna.

" _Mhm_ ," Hanna raises an eyebrow and slightly glares at Alison when she catches her checking Emily out. "Back to the story. We line up, standing in the pouring rain, ready to go. I asked her if she's ready, and what did you reply, Em?" Hanna's story trails off into a question, a devious tone in her voice.

Emily sighs, "I told you that I was ready to kick your ass."

"And you didn't, did you?" Hanna coaxes.

"I would have," Emily mumbles.

"What happened?" Alison looks between the camera and Emily who is looking away, pouting.

"She found a skateboard on her neighbor's lawn and rode down the street while I swore at her from three yards back," Emily shakes her head and laughs.

"I saw the opportunity and I took it. That's what you get for underestimating me," Hanna reminds Emily after she stops laughing.

"I didn't even know that you knew how to skate!"

Hanna shrugs, "Aria's brother taught me a few years beforehand."

"I didn't even know that _Mike_ knew how to skate," Emily shakes her head.

"What happened after that?" Alison recovers from laughing at the two.

"I got my one unrestricted request," Hanna smirks at the camera. "Once she caught up and tried to tell me that my win didn't count—"

"It didn't," the brunette interrupts.

"I finally thought of my special request. Matching tattoos," she squeals in excitement as Emily groans for what feels like the sixteenth time.

"You should have seen the look that the artist gave us when we asked for matching tattoos that said ' _Hannily_.'"

"Well did you see the look that _I_ gave you?" Emily sits bug-eyed while listening to the past event.

Hanna starts laughing hard, moving away from the camera for a second and coming back to find Alison laughing as well.

"I tried to convince Em into getting ' _Hanna owns_ _this_ ' tattooed onto her ass, but she threatened to leave without me."

"Could you imagine me having to explain that to someone in the future?" Emily raises her voice, not realizing what she said until the words were out of her mouth.

"I wouldn't mind it," Alison shrugs. "Actually, I'd probably end up laughing for a good twenty minutes, especially if you told me the story right then and there."

"See, Em! She understands. You could have gotten it," Hanna whines.

"So, where'd you get this beautiful work of art?" Alison teases.

"Emily forced me into letting us get them on our feet, like she thought I'd enjoy having half of my name on her smelly foot," she makes a face.

"How did I not notice it last night?" Alison directs the question at Emily who shrugs.

"You were probably too busy—"

" _Hanna_!" Emily stops her best friend before she can get any further. "I think it's time for us to hang up."

"Fine, leave me," Hanna pouts as Emily takes the phone away from Alison. "Have fun, you two," she wiggles her eyebrows again as the call ends.

"Is she like this with every girl you spend time with?" Alison arches an eyebrow as Emily sees that it's now 12:30 P.M. while sliding her phone into her pocket.

"No, just the ones that I—" the brunette stops, not knowing how to continue that sentence.

Alison stares at Emily, desperately wishing that she could read the other girl's thoughts in order to find out what she was about to say — actually, reading minds in general would be pretty useful.

Emily rubs her hands together, "So, I have a surprise for you."

" _Ugh_ ," Alison groans. "I don't want to go anywhere today," she pouts.

The other girl shakes her head and giggles, "You don't need to go far."

"Anywhere other than right here is far," Alison pouts more.

"You'll like it, trust me."

Alison smiles deviously, "Will you carry me again?"

Emily gives her an incredulous look, causing the blonde to dramatically throw her head back and sigh.

"Okay, go get a couple of blankets and some pillows that can get a little dirty," Emily instructs.

"What the hell? How might they get dirty?" Alison's bug-eyed, confused, and slightly nervous, however she walks over to a rustic bin near the large fireplace and pulls out a couple of blankets before throwing them at Emily.

" _Thanks_ ," she says is a flat tone as a blanket lands on her head.

"You asked for them," Alison walks over to the couch and picks up two basic, decorative pillows before walking towards Emily, pillows still in hand.

Emily extends her free hand for Alison to take while holding the blankets underneath her other arm. Alison accepts the gesture as Emily unlocks the kitchen's side door that leads to an empty alleyway on the west side of Alison's house. They descend the small number of stairs and walk straight back until they reach a small gate that leads to the compact backyard. Once Emily unlatches the gate, she allows Alison to step past her, walking along the green grass.

As Alison walks further into the small space, she sees a laptop stacked on top of a black box which sits on an old wooden crate. She turns to the right to see a large, white sheet held up by a few metal rods, backed up against the back of the brick building.

"My boss owed me a favor so I asked if I could borrow his projection screen. He goes camping often," Emily rambles as she lays one of the blankets on the ground.

"When did you have time to do this?" Alison questions as she turns around, a smile on her face.

" _Mm_ ," Emily squints her eyes and pretends to think, "I had a lot of time to run around while you _hibernated_."

Alison smiles innocently, looking down at the blanket.

"So, what are we watching?" she asks when she looks back at Emily.

Emily blushes, suddenly shy and feeling pretty silly, "I was hoping that you'd watch the Harry Potter movies with me. Hanna owns them."

Alison laughs but nods her head excitedly, "You've never seen them?"

"I've been meaning to but I've never gotten the chance," she shrugs, "and I know that Hanna will spoil them for me if we watch together."

"How do you know that I won't spoil them?" Alison smirks and Emily frowns.

"You know that we won't be able to get through all of them today, right?" Alison looks at the screen and crawls onto the blanket.

"Then I guess we'll have to do this again, as well," Emily smiles as she sets up the movie.

Once the movie is rolling with a nicely adjusted picture and sound, Emily sits down next to Alison with plenty of room to spare. As the first " _Harry Potter_ " title screen flows through, Alison scoots closer to Emily and pulls the second blanket around them.

"You were hogging the blankets last night," Emily remarks as Alison looks at the screen.

"Be happy that I'm sharing this one," Alison replies, eyes still glued to the moving picture.

As the movie progresses, Emily looks down and takes Alison's hand, intertwining their fingers again; she enjoys holding Alison's hand and loves the psychological warmth that it provides — like a form of protection for both of them — solidarity, even. Once Alison smiles at her, the brunette turns her attention to the screen and begins to follow the storyline, mindlessly rubbing her thumb along Alison's hand.

X X X

Throughout much of the first Harry Potter film, Emily had asked countless questions and positively reacted to both the scenery and main plot of the entire franchise with statements (and puns) such as _"That castle is so… magical"_ and _"I wonder what house I'd be sorted into."_ Alison had probably paid more attention to the other girl's reactions than she did to the actual movie playing on the huge screen in front of them. At most interesting parts, Emily's eyebrows became furrowed and her mouth opened slightly, however, at other parts, she became frustrated that no one would just deck Draco Malfoy in the face and decided that crossing her arms would change the entire course of the movie. Between those two basic reactions, Emily had audibly gasped in surprise when Fluffy, the giant three-headed dog, had made his first appearance.

" _We should get a Fluffy together,"_ Emily had said as she turned to Alison who tried to keep herself from laughing at the request; she knew that Emily was aware that it wasn't exactly, well… possible, but she didn't want to offend her in any way, shape, or form.

After the end of the first movie, as the pair went inside to grab some snacks, the brunette had rambled saying that Hermione is her favorite character and that she should have watched these movies years ago. Grabbing some of the assorted snacks that she had bought for Alison the day before, they made their way back to the blanket. Before sitting down, Emily inserted the next movie's disk into the laptop and projected it onto the screen.

The second Harry Potter movie quickly became Emily's favorite of the two. She enjoyed the entire concept of the movie as well as many of the animations and moods of different scenes. Admittedly, she was a bit put off by the amount of spiders included in the second movie's theme, but it grew on her after a bit — that is, until they started to attack. Afterwards, once again, she had dubbed Hermione as her favorite and expressed her hatred for Malfoy to which Alison replied, _"He's… okay,"_ and, well, Emily wasn't all that thrilled about her choice of words; _"What do you mean?! He's a total ass-hat."_

While the second movie rolled on, both Emily and Alison had switched positions repeatedly. First, they ate their snacks while sitting up, knees touching with a bag of food between them. Next, Alison had laid on her stomach while Emily hugged her knees to her chest as she watched on. Finally, as the movie's end credits had hit the screen, they were both laying on their stomachs with their elbows digging into the blanket, propping their heads up on their folded knuckles.

Checking the time, they were surprised yet not-very-surprised to learn that it was 5:16 P.M., which meant that they should be eating dinner pretty soon. As they walked into the house, Alison had turned to Emily and said, _"What's for dinner? And don't say soup because I don't want soup,"_ to which Emily placed a hand over her heart in fake offense and said, _"But I bought it for you."_ After that, they decided on ordering some cheese pizza from a small pizzeria down the road.

Forty minutes passed before the pizza arrived; Alison didn't even try to put on her natural charm when the delivery kid arrived at the door.

" _So, is this lunch or dinner?"_ Emily had questioned as she took a bite.

" _It's delicious. Don't question it,"_ Alison argued.

The time is now 6:25 P.M. and the two are finally finishing up their food, enjoying simple conversations and soft banter at their normal spot: the kitchen island.

"What's for dinner tomorrow? Pizza or food from the Indian place down the street?" Emily asks sarcastically, remembering the fact that Alison still hasn't gone shopping for real food.

Alison laughs at Emily's intentional lack of tact, "I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow." When Emily narrows her eyes across the counter, she groans, "I promise, okay?"

Emily nods her head swiftly, obviously content, before Alison speaks up again.

"I should probably call CeCe and let her know that everything's okay," Alison bites her cheek as she taps on the screen a few times before putting the phone up to her ear.

Emily pays attention to Alison's body language. The blonde seems fine but also remains guarded, especially when the phone (apparently) keeps ringing and the call nearly goes to voicemail. Alison taps her nails on the countertop, waiting for an answer as she continues to bite on the inside of her cheek.

"Hey, CeCe," Alison starts when the other girl finally picks up. "I figured you'd want me to, you know, check in."

A few seconds pass before Alison speaks again, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Directly afterwards, Emily can hear shouting coming from the phone's speaker and, since Alison is pulling the phone away from her ear very quickly, she's sure that the blonde heard it too — and much louder.

"Mona is there and they want me to FaceTime. Is that okay?" Alison directs at Emily who still stands across from her.

Emily nods quickly in response, feeling strangely happy that Alison asked her even if she didn't need permission in the first place.

The blonde switches over to FaceTime and Emily hears Mona's voice come through the speaker first.

" _Alison_ ," Mona stretches out her name, "I miss you."

Alison chuckles, "I miss you both too."

"No, you're only supposed to miss me," Mona responds and Emily snickers from the other side of the counter.

"Let me hold the damn phone," CeCe growls, snatching the device and focusing it on both of their faces. "So, Ali, how are you, really?"

"I'm feeling… pretty good," Alison says as she looks up at Emily who is now scrolling through her own phone.

Mona smirks, "And I'm assuming that's because Emily is there as well?"

Alison blushes before swallowing hard and whispering more so to herself, "That's part of it."

After a few more minutes of Mona and CeCe's teasing and various forms of deflection by Alison, Mona changes the subject and treads cautiously.

"So… we're going somewhere tonight…" she starts, looking towards CeCe to see if she shouldn't say anything. When CeCe doesn't nudge her at all, Mona continues, "It's about an hour away or so and we were wondering if you wanted to come with."

Before Mona can even finish speaking, Emily's eyes look up from her phone's screen but she doesn't interject; she's learned that Alison needs to make her own decisions, even if they lead her into scary situations — even if it pains Emily tremendously.

"No thanks," Alison is quick to reject the offer. "Emily set up a little movie theater for us in my backyard," she smiles softly.

"That's so cute," CeCe gushes.

" _Mhm_ ," Mona interrupts CeCe and winks, causing Alison to blush again and look up towards Emily who, unfortunately, is actually looking back this time.

"Alright, I have to go now," Alison bites her lip.

"I'm sure you do," Mona teases again.

"Bye, Ali," CeCe joins in on the teasing. "Bye, _Emily_ ," she chuckles.

"Don't forget to use—" Alison ends the FaceTime call before Mona can finish the sentence.

Emily looks across the counter at the other girl who is still blushing furiously and trying to look elsewhere, chewing her lip in the process. The brunette giggles and shakes her head before nodding over towards the piano that sits near the windows.

"When are you going to play that for me?"

"How about…"

"Don't say never," Emily warns. "I want to hear you play it."

"But what if I suck?" Alison asks in a tiny voice, not wanting to disappoint Emily at all.

"If you suck then I'll sing and we can suck together," Emily offers before getting up and walking over to the piano.

Alison follows, reluctantly, and sits down on the narrow, padded bench in front of the keys. Pushing up the wooden key protector, Alison gently runs the back of her hand across the keys, making sure that they aren't all that dusty. While Alison sits still, Emily watches her hands, waiting for the girl to gather up the confidence to press a few keys.

"It's been a while so please don't make fun of me," Alison snickers as she eyes the row of black and white slabs.

" _Never_ ," Emily answers sarcastically as Alison rolls her eyes.

Once Alison begins to strike keys with a steady, perfect flow, Emily practically melts. The brunette watches the other girl who doesn't even seem to concentrate, really; Alison moves her hands so fluidly without any written direction or illustrated notes. She continues playing as Emily feels herself being sucked into a new kind of world — a peaceful one. Truthfully, Emily isn't even sure what Alison is currently playing but it sounds suspenseful yet very serene in a balanced sort of way. She gently leans on the piano, shifting her feet a bit as she continues to stare at Alison's hands gliding across the shiny keyboard.

"How was that?" Alison sheepishly asks, breaking Emily out of her trance; she wasn't even aware that Alison had stopped playing and put the keyboard protector back into its previous position.

" _Wow_ ," Emily breathes out.

"You're lying," Alison gently accuses. "I'm not as good as I used to be," she shrugs.

"You've got some pretty skilled fingers there," Emily mentally pummels herself as soon as the words leave her mouth; that comment wasn't even thought up before it was spoken — it just sort of _happened_.

Alison smirks heavily when she sees Emily's eyes widen after the comment.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she tilts her head before getting up and walking back towards the side door.

Before walking out, she turns back to Emily who is still standing next to the piano in shock.

"Do you want to watch the third movie or not?" Alison smiles when she sees Emily finally start to chase her into the backyard.

When they make it back into the yard, the sky is starting to darken more now that it's both nearing nighttime and pretty crummy out. Emily fumbles with the DVD case before she finally gets the disk out and inserts it into the laptop, pressing play and eventually getting situated next to Alison who decided to lay down this time. When Emily lays down next to Alison with her head resting on one of the pillows, her mind is still wandering off into many different places and, as the " _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ " title appears on the screen, her thoughts become even fuzzier when Alison moves closer, their shoulders just brushing against each other.

X X X

As the third movie progressed, Alison had gradually moved closer to Emily before she finally ended up turning onto her side, cuddling against the other girl with one hand resting on the brunette's stomach. Immediately, Emily had swallowed hard and tried to focus on the movie but it became more difficult once she noticed Alison's breathing on her neck and small patterns being drawn against her shirt.

Throughout much of the day, Alison's been thinking about the things that Emily had said before they fell asleep:

" _And how do you feel now? Do you still think I'll leave?"_

" _I'm going to change your mind, Alison."_

If today had to be summed up with one word, it'd be "comfort," and that's something that makes Alison's heart warm. It's scary, however, for her to start falling so hard for someone she barely knows (even if she feels like they've known each other for much longer). Actually, it's nerve wracking, in her mind, to fall for anyone. Hell, she definitely wasn't in love with Elliott, yet he still found a way to start breaking her more than she was before.

But this is Emily, Alison reminds herself, and she's nothing like him; the blonde knows that for certain. This girl is caring, she's protective, and she's… _real_.

"Are you enjoying our day together?" Emily whispers to the girl who continues to trace small shapes and patterns, derailing her train of thoughts.

Alison digs her elbow into the ground and sits up a little, looking at Emily as she rests her cheek on her fist. She feels extremely nervous, but holds a serious poker face.

"A lot, actually," Alison gives her a genuine, thankful smile as her other hand comes to a standstill.

Emily smiles back and begins to ramble, "What was your favorite part?" she looks around while smiling. "The amazing breakfast, the surprise movie theater, the dinner—"

Alison cuts her off with a timid kiss which, in no time, Emily reciprocates. It's soft and sweet but there's a bit of passion put into it, especially when Alison brings her hand up to Emily's neck, gently stroking her jaw as they continue to kiss, the movie rolling on in front of them.

When they break apart, Emily is speechless as Alison's lips still linger inches away from her own, the blonde's body slightly hovering over Emily's.

"You were saying?" Alison whispers, her eyes trying to focus on Emily's, however repeatedly flickering towards the girl's lips.

Emily slightly opens her mouth before closing it; she's at a loss for words and, judging from the way that Alison leans back down and kisses Emily with even more desire, the blonde is glad that the other girl doesn't have anything to say right now.

As soon as Emily _finally_ comes back down to reality, she starts to take control of the kiss. Within minutes, she pushes Alison back slightly and mentally reasons to herself that Alison's arm was probably getting tired from holding her head up for a long period of time but, really, she just wanted a better advantage so she can hover over the other girl instead. Once Alison is pushed flat onto her back, Emily cradles her cheek with one hand as she continues to kiss her, both girls feeling extremely nervous yet like they've been set on fire. Eventually, Emily slides her hand down to Alison's waist, gently grasping at her t-shirt as she feels the girl's tongue against her own. Their mouths move against each other for what seems like two minutes but ends up being the rest of the movie that's playing on the projector.

Finally, after hearing the end credit music, they depart and look into each other's eyes as Alison tucks some of Emily's fallen hairs behind her ear before kissing her once more.

"The movie's over," the blonde whispers even though it's pretty obvious since the trademarked Harry Potter credit music is playing.

"Damn it. I missed the ending," Emily exaggeratedly sighs and laughs when Alison pokes her in the side.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a distraction," Alison looks away, pretending to be hurt.

"It's okay, I guess," Emily smirks when Alison shoots her a glare.

Alison holds her glare as Emily looks at her with much softer eyes, moving her hand back to Alison's face and running her thumb along the other girl's bottom lip. The blonde kisses Emily's thumb and then leans up to kiss her lips once again. As she lays her head back, she looks at the sky and sees that it's completely dark now.

Glancing back towards Emily, she whispers, "Stay for another movie."

Emily bites her lip in regret.

"I really want to but I have work in the morning," she frowns.

"You can leave when it's over," Alison tries to sway Emily as she leans up and brushes her lips against the brunette's once more.

"You and I both know that, if I stay, I'll want to spend the night," Emily backs up a tad, keeping some distance between them.

"Then spend the night," Alison bats her eyelashes with a shy smile.

Emily chuckles, "And we also know that, if I spend the night, I won't want to leave in the morning."

"I probably wouldn't let you either," Alison speaks softly, eyes focused on Emily's lips.

Emily swallows hard before pulling herself off of the other girl and getting to her feet. She begins to pack up the laptop, projector, and DVDs before moving towards the house's back wall and taking down the screen, carefully folding the metal rods and white tarp. Meanwhile, Alison gathers the blankets and pillows until she turns her attention back to the brunette.

"How did you know that I'd like Harry Potter?" Alison questions.

Emily smiles to herself before turning around to face Alison.

"I saw the books next to that reading nook before I _attempted_ to sleep," she shakes her head before continuing, "I wasn't sure if you like the books or movies more."

Alison smiles as Emily explains, pursing her lips afterwards.

"Well… I like the books and movies equally but," she moves closer to Emily, "you might have made the movies more appealing," she ends with a kiss to the corner of the other girl's mouth.

Emily's stomach flips as she sucks in a sharp breath; she doesn't want to leave at all and she's pretty sure that Alison is dead set on trying to make her stay even though she _really_ can't.

Pecking Alison on the lips quickly, she gathers the wooden crate full of supplies and speed-walks out of the backyard, desperately trying to remember that she _cannot_ stay for the night. Alison follows with her bundle of blankets and pillows, albeit she's actually still in the fenced yard since Emily left the space like her ass was on fire.

Once Alison makes her way inside, throwing the blankets and pillows into the center of the room after locking the side door, Emily is already standing by the front door, crate by her feet.

"Are you _that_ eager to leave me?" Alison's eyebrows furrow.

"What? No," Emily shakes her head and the other girl raises one eyebrow. "I just know that I need to leave before I _do_ end up staying," she says pointedly.

"Am I that persuasive?" Alison asks seductively as she gets closer.

" _Yes_ ," the brunette lets out a breathy laugh, "and you _know_ that."

Alison smirks and then bites her bottom lip.

"Come back after work tomorrow?" she asks in a hopeful tone, casually standing inches away from the other girl. "I swear I won't—"

"I know you won't," the other girl interrupts and Alison purses her lips. "Maybe I'll be back," Emily teases in attempt to regain their playfulness from before — and it works.

"You know you want to," Alison gets closer.

"Do I really?" Emily matches Alison's boldness.

"Mhm."

"Maybe," Emily whispers as she presses her lips against the blonde's, putting both hands on the girl's waist so very gently and, soon, backing away to bend over and pick up the crate.

Alison opens the door for the brunette, slightly dazed with soft eyes although disappointed that she can't stay overnight; today was perfect in Alison's mind, and she's more than grateful that Emily has, seemingly, chosen to deal with her impulsive, irrational decisions, and guarded nature — not to say that she _enjoys_ those aspects, because Alison sure as hell loathes herself for it.

Before Emily walks out, Alison stops her one more time and kisses her harder before lightly latching onto the brunette's lip and tugging. She lets go and takes a step back as she opens the door further so Emily can fully walk out, however she's a bit stunned at first. Alison just smiles seductively and bites her own lip as Emily blinks a few times before, eventually, stepping out of the building.

When Alison sees Emily start to walk down the street, she narrows her eyes in confusion as she calls after the other girl.

"Isn't that box a little heavy to be carrying down the street?"

"No," Emily yells over her shoulder, "I could use the air."

She continues to walk as Alison stands in the doorway, chuckling at the fact that she's able to get Emily so flustered with such simple things — it's enjoyable, in her mind.

Once Emily is fully out of sight after turning a corner and disappearing behind a nearby building, Alison heads back inside and stares at the large living space, everything hitting her suddenly. She thinks about everything that just unfolded with Emily, and how she, for an extended amount of time, seemed to have let her walls down. It feels good, and she takes a deep breath, hoping that, maybe, the feeling will stay or at least visit frequently.

Her forehead creases, however, when an ugly voice rears its ugly head into her thoughts, diminishing her previous happiness.

" _They agreed with me,"_ Alison recalls Elliott's words from the night before, _"And I felt so sorry for you, dear. I know how much you dreamt of reuniting with your family."_ She shakes her head at the memory, suddenly feeling burnt by the entire energy within her house.

" _I want to go home,"_ she remembers repeating to CeCe as she runs her hand along the stairwell's railing while she walks by. _"Home. I don't know. I just want to feel like I'm home. Please."_

Alison feels her nails digging into her palms, causing her to realize that she's had her hands balled into fists for quite some time once she started remembering the night before. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she sits on the piano's padded bench. Bending over slightly, she places her elbows on her legs and buries her face into her hands, trying not to ruin such a nice night by walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of whatever she can find. She refuses, however; she refuses to let this get the best of her and she _certainly_ refuses to drunkenly call or text Emily tonight — the sweet brunette doesn't deserve that and, quite frankly, she'll never deserve that.

" _Where's home, Alison?"_

The conflicted blonde can hear CeCe's desperation from the night before, then remembers the sound of a car door slamming shut as Emily came into view, running straight over to Alison and making sure that she's okay.

Alison lifts her head up and touches her lips slightly as she takes another deep breath.

 _She's_ home; Emily is her home.

* * *

 **How about them apples? No, but really, what are ya'll thinking? I just have to say, for those who are thinking "Alright, but why is Alison kissing her if she doesn't fully trust her yet?"... let me just say... 1) Would you be able to resist a gentle romantic like Emily Fields? and 2) Trusting someone has no correlation to liking said person. Either way, I'd like to believe that Alison is warming up to Emily, and they're pretty much equalizers for the majority of situations.**

 **What about Hanna/Alison's first face-to-face (via technology) confrontation? Do you think Hanna approves?**

 **And Emily's tattoos? What about Alison actually playing the piano for Emily, specifically?**

 **I know there weren't many psychological answers in this chapter, but I hope the fluffiness made up for it. Honestly, Alison being a Harry Potter nerd has always been something that I've wanted to see, so I had to add it in.**

 **Anyway, next chapter is hot and cold, and both Emily and Alison will face their past demons (or at least parts of them) in their own individual ways, which is going to be a pretty big milestone in this story. Sadly, you'll have to wait until Wednesday... for real this time.**

 **As always... PM me, favorite, follow, review, throw rocks or cotton candy, etc. & don't forget that I'm also on Tumblr at "capn-charlie" so you can ask me questions there, or send me theories. Whatever. Have a nice week, and I'll (hopefully) be seeing you for the next update! (Side note: I'm giving up on saying "Wednesday" because, apparently, I have no self control when it comes to posting so we'll just go with it.)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Wow, thank you so much for your responses to last chapter. Here's a surprise update because I felt as though a six-day wait was enough (for my impatient bum, at least).**

 **Let me begin by saying, yes, Alison is extremely seductive and a giant tease; one of my favorite faces regarding her character, actually. And I feel like this is a good time to mention that this fic is definitely rated M during future chapters, so… I warned you.**

 **So, here's where we go for a slight loop, and I think this chapter is pretty important for both Emily and Alison since I made a point to speak about their inner struggles, individually.**

* * *

Monday's work day went by quickly. Emily's shift was 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., meaning that she was steady with clients for most of the afternoon until about 2 P.M. when random walk-ins began to show up as the pre-scheduled client list began to shorten. There were many reasons as to why her work day went by so fast, one being that she enjoyed most of the pieces she had worked on throughout her shift. Her personal favorite piece was a wise-looking owl with its claw clasped onto an ornate pocket watch, surrounded by purple-toned puffs of smoke. The client seemed extremely thrilled which, at the end of the day, is all that really matters to Emily; it makes her feel like she's accomplished something.

Another factor contributing to the day's speedy progression was that she worked with both Berlin and Antoinette, two of the other artists at No End. Berlin is a dark-skinned twenty-five year old British man with slightly stretched ears and quite a few tattoos (quite a few meaning _a lot_ ), also known as the funniest employee at No End Tattoo Parlor. Antoinette, on the other hand, is one of the shop's veteran employees (though only in her late twenties) and is known to have an extremely fiery personality, mostly shown through her Spanish-background and constant, accented swearing.

Many times during today's shift, Emily would be working on a client only to hear a string of cuss words coming from Antoinette in the other room, followed by Berlin giggling and raising his voice. Emily just shook her head and continued, hoping the current client didn't feel annoyed by the background noise.

After finishing on the client, she wraps him up and brings him out to the register so he can pay. He thanks Emily for his new memorial tattoo (which he had told her an extremely detailed story regarding the idea as she sat him down), and gives her a pretty big tip.

As she sits down behind the front desk's computer and notices that it's nearing the end of her shift, Berlin zooms through an adjacent room's red curtains (dividing the tattooing space from the lounge area) and slightly hides behind Emily, crouching down so he can peer over the desk.

"Um, can I help you?" Emily chuckles.

"She's going to kill me, you know," Berlin slightly laughs as Antoinette barges out of the room with a red high heel in hand.

"I'm going to kill you," the dark-haired woman warns, waving her heel in Emily's direction — well, Berlin's.

Emily just sits there, unfazed — it happens quite often.

"What did you do?" Emily whispers to Berlin who grunts and exaggeratedly sobs, causing the brunette to roll her eyes.

Antoinette hears Emily and pulls on her own sleeve, showing what had happened: a big hole is present, gaping from next to her neckline and making its way towards the end of her short sleeve.

" _Ohh_ ," Emily removes herself from between the two as she hears Antoinette mumble something quickly.

As Berlin stands up a bit straighter, Antoinette waves the heel as she speaks loudly in a thick accent, "This was my favorite."

"I'm sorry, Anti, I'll take you out to make up for it," he looks at Antoinette with pleading eyes before turning his attention to Emily who is getting ready to leave, "Emily?"

"Sorry, dude," she directs at Berlin with a "you're in deep shit" smile, "I'm out."

With that, Emily walks out of the shop and makes her way towards the apartment. She's aware that Berlin has always had a big thing for Antionette, so she figures that he should _probably_ sort things out before ever making another move on her. The brunette chuckles when she remembers the first time that Berlin had confessed to liking Antoinette. Emily's first reaction was, _"Really?"_ with an arched eyebrow since he was constantly mocking Anti. _"It's out of pure love, Emily,"_ he had retorted, earning an eyeroll and some serious pointers; _"You really have no idea what you're doing, do you?"_ After that, Emily had laid down some serious advice on how to get closer to Anti, though it hasn't seemed to do much good since she nearly shoved a high heel down his throat earlier.

Emily's phone chimes with a text message. She checks it and sees Alison's name, smiling as she opens the message. Alison had been texting her for most of the day with random facts about whatever show she was currently watching and other small things; their text conversation was also a big contributor to the day's quickness.

 **A** — "Don't forget that you said you'd come back after work :)"

 **E** — "Hmm. I don't remember saying that…"

Emily rolls her eyes at her own response as she takes a turn on the sidewalk.

 **A** —

Her eyebrows furrow at the message; it's empty.

 **E** — "That text didn't say anything."

 **A** —

The brunette continues to stare at the screen, dumbfounded, as she attempts to pay attention to where she's walking.

 **A** —

Finally, it dawns on her as she shakes her head and laughs.

 **E** — "Okay! I get it. Yes, I'm coming over."

 **A** — ":)"

 **E** — "Let me stop home for a bit first. I'm on my way there now."

 **A** — "Fine."

 **E** — "Jeez, passive aggressive…"

 **A** — "Shut up."

Emily shoves her phone back into her pocket as she reaches the apartment complex's door. She quickly runs up the stairs before she takes a right turn and walks until she ends up in front of the apartment's front door. As she turns the knob and enters, she sees Hanna leaning over the kitchen table, going through a small purse. She's dressed up in semi-casual, semi-dressy attire which, to Emily, is pretty strange since Hanna is normally wearing sweats and t-shirts complemented by a messy bun.

"Internship shift?" Emily directs the question at her blonde best friend who is now speeding around the apartment floor, gathering items such as a thin jacket and her keys.

The brunette walks further into the apartment, making her way into the kitchen area and grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge as she places her back onto the counter.

"Nope. I have a dinner date," Hanna responds as she fixes her eyeliner in the wall-mounted mirror near the front door.

"Han, it's only three-thirty. That's not dinner," Emily chuckles.

The blonde doesn't respond. Instead, she pulls out her favorite light-shade of lipstick and begins to apply the color to her lips carefully. This catches Emily's attention; Hanna has only used this specific lipstick on _very_ special occasions yet, each time, she remarks that it's her absolute favorite.

"Who did you say you were going on a lunch date with?" Emily purses her lips in curiosity and watches Hanna smile into the mirror.

"I didn't say."

Emily tilts her head as more curiosity consumes her. Hanna looks at Emily in the mirror's reflection and chuckles again.

"Not too fond of having little-to-no details, are you?" she whips her head around and remarks as the brunette rolls her eyes from where she stands in the kitchen.

Hanna eventually continues once she's made her way towards the kitchen table.

"His name is Caleb and I've been seeing him for a few weeks now," she informs. "He's my boss' cousin and helps with some of the company's computer software."

When Emily opens her mouth but doesn't say anything, Hanna automatically goes on the defensive for Caleb.

"I think you'd really like him, Em. He's sweet," she says in a comforting voice.

When Emily finally speaks, her voice holds a certain heaviness and a bit of regret which Hanna notices instantly.

"I can't believe I didn't even realize that you were talking to someone," the brunette looks at Hanna sadly. "I'm so sorry for neglecting you, Han."

"No, Em. You weren't neglecting me," Hanna moves over to Emily and wraps her arms around the other girl's waist as she lays her head atop the taller girl's shoulder. "You've been having your own fun."

Before Emily can protest, Hanna speaks again.

"Don't even try and deny it because I know you and you seemed happy this morning," she remarks, " _extremely_ happy." Hanna lifts her head a little and looks at the girl that she's known for many years as she speaks again, "And you deserve it."

"So do you," Emily hugs Hanna, gradually tightening her grasp on the other girl before she begins to grunt in displeasure.

Hanna eventually escapes and fixes her hair and outfit, pointing a finger in Emily's direction.

"You better not have ruined my makeup."

Emily smirks and teases, " _No_ , not at all," which causes Hanna to run back to the mirror in order to make sure.

" _So_ , you and Alison…" Hanna gently pries from where she stands near the door, watching the other girl make her way towards the bathroom.

" _Hmm_?" Emily hums as she enters the small room to fix her own hair.

"Are you two a thing, or…"

Emily stops what she's doing and looks at herself in the mirror. Her and Alison haven't exactly spoken about last night's many kisses or flirtatiousness and whatever else. Truthfully, she has no idea what they are or what Alison even wants them to be. She knows that Alison, likely, still isn't all too keen on letting anyone in or allowing them to help her face whatever demons run around in her mind, but the blonde _did_ kiss her — _repeatedly_. That has to mean something, Emily's forehead creases as she looks downwards.

"I'm not sure what we are, honestly," she goes back to fixing her hair and rummaging through the vanity's drawers so she can find the best brush.

"Well, what do you want to be?" Hanna's now leaning against the bathroom door's frame, watching Emily's expression in the mirror.

Emily doesn't respond.

"I know you want to be with her, Emily, and I also know that _you_ know you want to be with her but you don't want to admit it out loud," Hanna rambles, "because, if you actually say the words, you know it's real and—"

"—it's scary," Emily finishes.

Hanna knows Emily more than anyone else in the world — even her own parents. During high school, Emily had gone through a few bad breakups and torturous relationships. Though the majority of her relationships' ends weren't her fault alone, there's one specific breakup that still fucks with Emily's emotions; the girl had left her, claiming that she was too overbearing and couldn't " _live_ " worth a damn. After that, Emily had tried to stop being so protective (including with Hanna, Spencer, and Aria) and attempted to mind her business — she even tried to lie a few times. Unfortunately, Hanna watched this new facade torture Emily as the brunette tried to bite her tongue in certain situations and, for a better example, walk away from parties that grew a bit out of control.

It didn't last long, really, because the three girls finally convinced Emily that she shouldn't change just because of one person's claim against her. _"Fuck what she thinks,"_ the three had chimed together, _"we love protective you."_ It was only a start, but it helped Emily a lot; that past girlfriend's independence had nothing to do with Emily; it was the girl's own personality that kept an emotional rift between them. Either way, the relationship marked Emily in a dark way, and she still struggles every now and then with knowing what's considered romantic and what's considered a bit too clingy.

Emily blames her parents for her overbearing personality, if she's being completely honest. Maybe that's selfish, but, for as long as the brunette can remember, her parents had coddled her endlessly; they'd make her appointments until she was over eighteen, her life plans would be destroyed by their worldviews, and negativity was a steady-flowing feeling in her house. She was locked away, in a mental sense, and hidden from the rest of the world due to what could possibly happen — an _actual_ excuse that had fallen from her mother's mouth a time or two. Sometimes, her mom would ask if she was doing drugs just because she woke up cheery that morning. Other times, she'd ask if the other three girls were being trouble-makers, out of nowhere.

What does this have anything to do with her earned protective nature? _Everything_. Once Hanna's mother had made constant remarks regarding Emily's strong aura, the brunette made it her duty to conform to the amazing image that her friends' parents had cascaded upon her. It wasn't a bad thing, in all honesty, for Emily to change into a stronger person with an occasional-rough exterior, but it came with a price: sometimes, she didn't know where to draw the line. Her thoughts would conflict _"Is my sickening gut feeling correct or am I being pessimistic?"_ and _"Are they in trouble or am I assuming the worst?"_ Sometimes, she found herself calling her friends just because of a silly feeling, and, afterwards, she'd feel embarrassed for it; _"They must think I'm going crazy."_

Her friends understood for the most part, however, and she's gotten them (usually individually) out of sticky situations with creepy people, annoying boyfriends, or rude fuckboys. On the other hand, like previously stated, she's been bitched at in certain situations because, well, acting cold solely due to one of your best friends going out on a date with some handsy college kid isn't exactly the best reaction — or form of "support." It's kind of ironic, actually, that Emily became what she _loathed_ the most: protective and overbearing — even if she tells herself, repeatedly, that she's much better than her parents ever were.

"What if I fuck up, Hanna?" Emily finally faces the other girl, not wanting to rehash any more memories.

"We already went over this, Em."

"No, I know," she sighs, "but what if I _really_ fuck up? What if I'm too overprotective or she feels like I'm holding her back from doing what she really wants?"

"You're not going to," Hanna smiles and walks over to Emily, similar to when they were in the kitchen. "Stop with the _what-if_ 's."

"I want to be with her," Emily inhales sharply and Hanna smirks, causing Emily to give her a look. " _What_?"

"You said the words," Hanna sings and the brunette rolls her eyes.

"I did," she groans.

"You can't take it back now," Hanna firmly states, "but you should be saying them to Alison, instead."

Emily groans again; Hanna's right.

"Are you coming home tonight?" Emily asks after a few minutes of silence between them.

"I plan on it," Hanna bites her cheek and goes wide-eyed when Emily gives her an authoritative look. "Yes, okay, I'll be home, _damn_. What about you?"

Emily squints her eyes and looks around the room, pretending to debate the question.

"Emily _Fields_ , if I need to come home then so do you," Hanna glares.

"I can't help it if she wants to watch more of the Harry Potter franchise," Emily defends. "It's actually pretty entertaining."

" _What_? You started watching _without_ me? That's it," Hanna grunts and shakes her head, "I'm going to have to fight her for you, aren't I?"

"That's one battle I hope I never have to see," Emily quickly says before thinking, "well…"

Hanna swings her small purse at the brunette.

"Fine, I'll come home," she says as she rubs her arm.

"Good. Then we can have quality time," the blonde devilishly smirks and rubs her hands together while Emily stares at her, mildly frightened.

Hanna walks towards the door and triple-checks to make sure that she has her keys, phone, and purse. Once ready, she opens the door but hears Emily's voice come from somewhere behind her.

"Don't be out too late, Marin," the brunette sings from near her own bedroom door.

" _Yeah_ , we'll see who's out later," Hanna raises an eyebrow before she shuts the door behind her.

After Hanna leaves, Emily continues to get ready. She moves into her room and finds a new outfit to change into; comfortable shorts (since the weather _randomly_ took a big spike) and a long, wavy tank top covered by a zip up hoodie. Once deeming her appearance acceptable, she looks at the time and sees that it's nearing 4 P.M. which means that the traffic should be picking up soon. She grunts but soon remembers the snide remark Hanna had made a while back: _"Why don't you just call and order a damn cab instead of trying to catch one every time?"_

The brunette shakes her head as she orders a taxi which _should_ arrive within the next few minutes. Making sure she has everything, Emily locks up the apartment and jogs down the stairs so she can wait on the sidewalk.

Her thoughts become louder as she leans against a thin, brick part of the small businesses under the apartment complex. Alison, obviously, is on her mind more than most things. She wonders what the other girl is currently thinking about or what else she did all day; truly, she doubts that Alison just watched TV for hours on end. Then, suddenly, there's the dreaded thought that Alison had went out with CeCe and Mona, though she believes that the two had work and wouldn't be able to take Alison out during the day. Also, Alison said she wouldn't. But, then again, what if—

The taxi driver leans on the car horn in order to break Emily out of her thoughts. She quickly jogs towards the vehicle and mutters, "Sorry," as she slides into the seat, earning a quick grunt from the driver before he begins to drive in the direction of Alison's house.

She looks out the window, attempting to shake any anxious thoughts out of her head. It somewhat works until her mind drifts to the possibility of Alison, somehow, meeting her parents. Would they like her? Would they say something if they didn't like her? She remembers how judgmental her parents are, even if they try to pass it off as "caring." As her thoughts progress, Emily sinks further into the seat.

And what if she met Alison's parents? No, that would never happen, would it? Emily shakes her head again; would Alison even _want_ Emily to meet her parents after everything?

" _You're not even at that point with Alison yet,"_ part of her subconscious reminds.

It's true, though. Emily knows she isn't even _dating_ Alison, yet her mind, for some reason, is acting like they're getting married soon. The brunette begins to stress in the backseat, mentally telling herself to calm down.

" _You're getting worked up over nothing,"_ another thought says.

She takes a deep breath as the vehicle stops; she didn't even realize that they were in Alison's neighborhood. Sliding out of the vehicle, Emily looks up to see Alison standing in the doorway, waving slightly with an expectant smile on her face.

"My childhood turtle could move faster than you," the blonde remarks as Emily makes her way up the front stairs.

"You had a pet turtle?" is Emily's response.

"No," Alison laughs, "but my brother did."

They stand in the doorway for a few seconds, neither wanting to make any specific moves, before Emily steps past Alison and walks into the hallway. The blonde closes the door and fastens the locks as she walks back to where she was before Emily arrived: the couch.

"So, what's on the menu tonight?" Emily asks as she sits next to Alison who is curled up in the corner of the couch.

Alison shoots her a half-confused, half-judgmental look.

"I meant TV," she clarifies.

Alison shakes her head and picks up the remote, "Crap, crap, and more crap."

"You invited me over to watch _crap_?" Emily shakes her head in fake disgust.

"No," Alison drawls, "I wanted to see you."

"I knew it," the brunette smirks.

Alison rolls her eyes, "Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I went grocery shopping."

" _Impressive_ ," Emily says genuinely with raised eyebrows, earning a shy laugh from the other girl. "Thank you for keeping your promise."

"Promises mean a lot to me," the blonde quietly remarks as she plays with her fingers.

Before Emily can respond, Alison changes the subject, obviously trying to get more comfortable with the topic.

"So…" she looks around the room, "I asked CeCe if she could hook me up with a temporary job or whatever at the office where she works."

Emily nods her head slowly, not understanding why Alison would _want_ a job but supporting her either way.

"She agreed to put in a good word for me. Hopefully, if it works out, I'll be writing short articles for the company since it's a small newsletter type of business."

"Once again… impressive," Emily softly remarks, attempting to get Alison to come out of her shell. "I'm proud of you."

Alison offers the other girl a short, sharp smile before looking at the ceiling and clenching her jaw a bit. The blonde continues to look around the room, acting a bit fidgety which Emily quickly notices.

"What's wrong, Ali?" she questions.

The other girl swallows hard before shaking her head a bit and coming up with a new topic.

"I have to ask, Em," Alison makes sure to speak in a soft tone so Emily doesn't get nervous (which only works partially because Emily practically walked into Alison's house with her nerves through the roof), "last night…" she struggles to find the words, "being with me… did you have a good time?"

Emily plays with her hands as she answers, "Definitely."

"I'm not talking about the entire night, I mean…" the blonde clarifies as she turns her body on the couch in order to face the other girl who waits for Alison to finish her thought.

Alison grunts and closes her eyes when she can't find the correct way to say what she's thinking.

"Emily, I'm a mess, but you already know that. My mind is all over the place, twenty-four-seven, and it's hard for me to let people in, but I want…" she huffs again, frustrated with herself.

"Are you sure you want this?" she finally asks in a small yet unwavering voice, gesturing between both of them.

Emily stares into Alison's eyes for a moment before, without much hesitation, leaning forward and kissing the blonde. It may not be the verbal response that she had planned on giving, but Emily hopes that Alison gets the message loud and clear: she wants to be with her and take care of her — she _needs_ this.

X X X

Alison sits on the floor of her living room around 3 P.M., the next day, anxiously playing with her hands as she recalls everything that she's felt since Emily left the night before. She looks around the room and closes her eyes when they begin to sting, causing the pain to spike a bit more before subsiding. The blonde then brings her knees towards her chest and leans her face against the exposed skin as her pajama shorts bunch up below.

She remembers how she felt when Emily stood up off of the couch and confessed that she told Hanna that she'd be home for the night. They had just finished watching a few episodes of MTV's Scream series — well, _listening_ to a few episodes since Alison (admittedly) had gotten a bit handsy and flustered about halfway through the pilot. Once the fourth episode ended, Emily pulled her hoodie back over her tank top and walked towards the door as the blonde practically clung to her back.

" _Promise that you'll text me tonight?"_

" _I promise that I'll try to text you unless Hanna confiscates my phone."_

" _Promises mean the world to me. Don't forget."_

Minutes after the brunette walked out, Alison could physically feel her mood slipping through her almost trembling fingers. She never felt such strong hatred towards an inanimate object or building before until Elliott gave her a reason to; her own damn house is now tainted and, _fuck_ , she hates it.

The blonde rubs at her eyelids as she remembers walking by the kitchen's slightly-hidden alcohol cabinet. This brings up the memory of wanting to unlock the glass door and dive into whatever's shelved in there, just to make her thoughts shut up for a few hours.

" _Just go to bed, Alison,"_ the girl had mumbled to herself as she ascended the stairs carefully.

When the clock struck 12:30 A.M., Alison was laying in bed, carefully keeping an eye on her phone as her thoughts grew louder and louder. _"This bed isn't even yours,"_ one laughed, _"Is anything really yours?"_

Picking up her phone with shaky hands, she sent another text to Emily.

 _ **A**_ _— "I'm not feeling that great. I'm going to sleep."_

 _ **E**_ _— "Do you need me to come over? :("_

 _ **A**_ _— "No."_

After she sent it, she mentally scolded herself for being so curt with the other girl, so she sent another for good measure.

 _ **A**_ _— "Stay with Hanna. She deserves to have a nice night with her best friend."_

 _ **E**_ _— "Call or message if you need anything, pretty. I'll be here."_

The blonde slightly smiled as she placed her phone back on the nearby table. After getting a bit more comfortable (but not much, sadly), Alison pulled a pillow over her head and curled into a ball, praying that she'd fall asleep soon. When slumber didn't take over as fast as she had hoped, she began to cry softly as she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth together.

" _You've been through a lot worse,"_ she whispered to no one in particular. _"You're hurting yourself."_

This only partially helped as she began to cry a bit harder, slamming her eyes shut and, eventually, crying herself to sleep for the night.

Alison currently rocks back and forth on the wood floor of her living room, whimpering slightly when she feels a thumping headache start to reappear for what feels like the seventh time today. Her phone chimes on the floorboard next to her and, as she picks it up a little too quickly, it flips over and lands screen-first back onto the hard floor. She sighs heavily as she gathers herself and prepares just in case the screen is shattered — it's not, however.

 **E** — "Hanna's busy for the night so guess who gets to deal with me… :)"

 **A** — "Can't wait."

It's a short (and probably bitchy-sounding) reply and Alison knows it; she doesn't want to come off like she's in a bad mood so, again, she sends another text.

 **A** — "Miss you."

It isn't a lie, obviously, because Alison loves being with Emily but, right now, she just feels like complete crap and her mind is focused on everything _except_ happy things. She's mostly been thinking about what Elliott said about her family and how they don't care about her at all. Alison thinks about how Elliott waved her "dream" of reuniting with her family in her face.

If she was feeling up to it, in that moment, she could have punched him — Alison _should have_ and she knows it. Truthfully, she didn't want to and, sadly, it's because she feels like she deserved to hear it. Yeah, her parents are a pair of monsters, but how much better can she really be if she was created by those two monsters? Alison always _tries_ to think that her and Jason ended up better than them (actually, they both try to believe it), but who is she kidding, really?

" _You deserve everything you get,"_ a voice inside her head speaks, sounding a lot like Elliott.

She gets off of the floor quickly, feeling disgusted and angry with herself. Storming over to the kitchen cabinet, she flings open the see-through door and pushes an assortment of bottles aside, glasses clashing together and some falling towards the back of the confined space. After slamming her fist on the counter a few times as she stood on the tips of her toes in order to reach, she grasps onto a fresh bottle of tequila and unseals the plastic previously adorning the glass' cap.

" _Ah, there she is,"_ the voice speaks again as Alison grinds her teeth before taking a long swig of the fresh, burning liquid.

The blonde shutters afterwards, though she's seemingly gotten more used to it. It's sad, she admits, but it works for her.

" _What would Emily think?"_ another much softer voice invades her mind, causing Alison to place the bottle onto the center island.

The girl absolutely loathes herself right now; she's dragged Emily into this clusterfuck known as her life and it was selfish. She should have never invited the other girl into this mess, even if she feels like she _needs_ Emily. It isn't right, really, and the brunette deserves so much more.

" _Stop beating yourself up and try to become better for once,"_ the softer voice speaks again, forcefully trying to be reasonable.

Alison shakes her head and grimaces after she takes another sip from the large bottle, already gradually losing some of its contents.

"I'm sorry," the blonde tears up as she speaks to no one who can hear her.

Walking over to the piano with the tequila bottle in hand, she places the tall glass container on top of the giant, wooden piece's surface before sitting down on the bench and pushing the key protector upwards.

After a moment, the blonde attempts to play in order to keep herself busy, however keeps messing up. Taking a deep breath as she closes her eyes, she tries to relax before playing again. She clenches her fists together for a brief second then stretches her fingers slightly.

Finally, she makes another attempt at playing one of her favorite childhood tunes; she had made it up one day, quickly memorizing the specific keys and rhythm. Adding to her mounting anger, she hits one wrong key after another, missing the correct white bar by a fraction, fumbling again and again.

She grunts and her temper flares, slamming the key protector shut as she forcefully pushes the bench away from the piano and takes a swig from the bottle again, only to drop it back onto the surface. After breathing heavily for an extended period of time, she eyes the picture of CeCe, Mona, and herself sitting atop of the fireplace mantle. Disgusted when she remembers what's behind the photo, she speeds over towards the wooden shelf and snatches it, tearing away the small metal brackets from the back of the frame. As a result of not being careful, the glass front falls onto the floor and shatters, some shards sliding far and some landing just below where the blonde stands.

The broken girl finally retrieves a photo of her entire family from behind the front photo of the other girls; Alison had hidden it a long time ago, giving into her desire to hold at least one memory involving her family. The photo shows her entire family waving from a large boat's balcony, a young Alison standing on the balcony's second bar so she can be seen properly, accompanied by her brother half-smiling as he waved towards the camera, and her father and mother who look attached by the hip as they show off tight-lipped smiles. It used to be Alison's favorite picture of all of them; the only one where they could actually pass as a happy, normal family from an outsider's perspective.

Her eyes widen while her jaw hardens, crumbling the photo in her hand as she walks over to the kitchen sink. Dropping the glossy paper ball into the drain, she moves over to the garbage disposal's switch and flips it upwards, causing a deep rumbling sound to shake the kitchen wall. Her eyes start to water once she flips the switch back into the "off" position.

Alison backs up slowly, eyes still focused on the drain.

" _Did that make you feel better, sweetheart?"_ Elliott's voice rings through her mind again.

She's at a loss now; Alison has no idea what else she can do in order to silence her thoughts. In defeat, the blonde walks over to the couch and cries more — harder than the night before. She tucks her knees into her chest and hugs them as she curls into the corner cushion, wiggling back and forth as much as she can in hopes that it'll keep her busy. Soon, her energy gives out and she drifts off to sleep, her thoughts no longer an issue as the heaviness of her eyelids suck her into another world.

X X X

Alison wakes up to the sound of the front door closing pretty heavily. She sits up and sees Emily walking into the room with a frown on her face. The blonde rubs at her eyes and forehead as she tries to wake herself up a bit more. As she continues, she hears something hit the piano's surface, causing a slight echo.

"A tequila-drinking pianist," Emily jokes. "That's a new one," she bitterly remarks as she cocks her head, watching the sluggish girl on the couch.

Alison simply shakes her head and buries it in her hands as she leans over.

Emily lets her arms go limp at her sides as she sees the broken glass and picture frame scattered along the wood floor before she walks over and sits next to Alison.

"Alison, what's going through your mind?" Emily asks in a solid tone, obviously concerned yet still pretty disappointed.

"You seemed okay yesterday…" she continues, "I know that doesn't mean much because some people are good at covering things up but…" the brunette trails off.

When Alison hears the sadness in Emily's voice, her eyes water right away, not giving her the opportunity to blink the tears away before they start to fall. Her jaw shifts and hardens again as her chest rises and falls while she remains seated on the edge of the cushion.

Emily waits, not wanting to push the other girl into talking. Much to her surprise, Alison actually speaks.

"I hate—" the blonde swallows hard, "I hate living in a house that, _now_ , constantly reminds me of my shitty past and my even _shittier_ parents." Alison looks up towards the windows and then closes her eyes tightly before continuing, "I keep remembering the things that Elliott said and it fucking hurts so damn much," she cries.

"You can't let him get to you," Emily says as she watches the blonde break down.

"It's the only thing I know how to do, Emily," Alison lets out a sad chuckle.

After a beat of silence, Emily speaks again, "Is that why you asked CeCe if she could put in a good word for you at the office?"

Alison nods her head before explaining, "I had a similar job a while back. My parents didn't know and I'm sure that they wouldn't have cared even if they _did_ know. I saved a bunch of money up and stored it just in case…" she trails off. "I plan on using it to pay for my own monthly bills and gradually pay my parents back so I never have to hear from them ever again," she sighs.

Emily reaches over and tucks a strand of Alison's hair behind her ear, also brushing a tear off of the girl's cheek afterwards.

"How can I help?" the brunette asks as she scoots a fraction closer.

"I think I have to figure this out on my own," the other girl glances towards Emily before looking at her hands, playing with her fingers.

Although Emily doesn't want to interrupt the silence that has seemingly consumed the room, she feels as though she needs to address the partially emptied bottle that stares at her from across the room, even though she's aware that Alison isn't exactly in the best frame of mind at the moment.

"Alison…" she starts, "you can't figure this out by drowning your anxieties in alcohol."

The other girl looks at Emily and bites her inner cheek, not wanting to have this conversation so soon but knowing that she _has_ to.

"It doesn't only affect you anymore. It affects me too," Emily reminds her.

Alison nods her head slightly; she understands what Emily is saying and wishes she could drop this problem right here and now but, realistically, she can't; she's way too deep and, yeah, she's trying to pull herself out of it but she just keeps slipping back down the never-ending slope.

"I told you that I was a mess," Alison whispers. "Why did you pursue this when you already knew that?"

It isn't an accusation or statement drawn from frustration, but she's curious as to why Emily would _want_ this after she's seen how the blonde can get on most days.

"Because I want to be with you, Ali, and I don't care how much of a mess you think you are."

Alison smiles sadly before saying, "I want to be with you too, believe me," she bites her lip, "but you can't expect me to get better over night."

Emily mimics Alison's sad smile before nodding her head and moving closer, wrapping her arms around the other girl who leans into her chest. She knows that it isn't fair to expect Alison to just… _give up_ on alcoholism — it's not a hobby; it's a bad habit. Obviously, it pains Emily to watch her girlfriend fall backwards into dangerous patterns, but it's not like she's going to give up now — and, like always, she doesn't want to. But, in the end, Alison is correct: she needs to figure things out on her own, but with Emily by her side.

"I'm trying," the blonde girl whispers suddenly, her voice cracking towards the end.

Emily kisses the top of Alison's head.

"I know you are."

* * *

 **Now, before I get to my more obvious questions/comments, I feel the need to say… for those of you who are like me and are currently not (on-screen) Caleb's biggest fan, I promise that I will redeem him as much as I can in this story.**

 **Down to the nitty gritty: Hanna and Emily's heart-to-heart... #Hannily? How about how Hanna knows that Emily is a bit hesitant about giving her full self to someone? It's similar to Alison, but it's not exactly about not trusting other people… it's more about not trusting herself. And what about Emily's parents or, specifically, her mother? In this story, there will be obvious villains and there will be people who you will, probably, borderline dislike.**

 **"Promises mean a lot to me." - Remember this line for the rest of the story; I promise that it's a reoccurring theme… (and see what I did there?) Emily and Alison finally DTRed! (Defined their relationship, for those who had no idea what I was going on about).**

 **Alright, obviously I'm going to say… Alison is definitely still troubled. I wanted to make sure that she seems human; she isn't just going to get over her issues, and I'm not going to have her alcoholic problems just disappear (I say as I side-eye PLL), so obviously she had to hit a bump in the road. I want to defend myself, first off, against those who think that Emily was a bit too accepting of the situation she walked in on; I truly believe that tough love wouldn't have worked in the situation at hand.**

 **Another long author's note… le sigh… but I enjoy talking to you lovely people, so deal with it. A hint for next chapter: You'll be introduced to Alison's lovely parental units (and, trust me, I use the term "lovely" very, very loosely), and I suppose you can consider the chapter (as a whole) to be one of the fic's high points.**

 **Comments? Questions? Praises? Worries?**

 **Have fun with tonight's episode of PLL and be sure to message me on here or Tumblr ("capn-charlie")!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Greetings, comrades! I'm updating today because I have written down in my notes that this chapter and the next could/should be considered a double-update… so Chapter 8 will be coming out on Wednesday. After that, I'll be back to my "normal" updating schedule. If I'm being honest, the only reason as to why I'm not updating twice a week regularly is because I don't want the story to be over super quickly (but, for those who want to know how many chapters there are remaining: thirteen).**

 **Alright. It's go time.**

* * *

"You can just stop here," Alison instructs the taxi driver as he pulls to the side of a crowded New York City street, "thank you."

She pays the older-looking man as he nods his head in gratitude for the extra cash. It was a small price to pay for making him weave through endless streets and clusters of traffic for the last forty minutes. Technically, her house isn't _too_ far away from the city, however the weekday's traffic seems to add an extra chunk of time onto the ride's standard length. She reminds herself to admire her neighborhood's empty street when she goes home as she steps onto the sidewalk and gets bumped into by some man on his cellphone.

This city trip wasn't even a formulated plan at the beginning of the day; her and the other girl had rolled out of bed (Alison rolling out a bit later) only to watch TV and make small talk over breakfast. During their conversation, Alison had somehow convinced herself into heading to her parents' fancy New York City building in order to pay back some money and tell them to stay away from her. Right before the brunette had left her house, Alison informed the other girl on what she's planning on doing to which Emily replied, _"Are you sure you're ready for that?"_ and Alison snickered, _"No, I'm not sure, but I have to do it sooner or later."_ They parted ways sometime around 2 P.M., giving Emily just enough time to get home, shower, and leave for her three o'clock shift.

Their relationship has been going quite well over the last nine days, actually, and both girls are proud of Alison's progress when it comes to her drinking habits. In fact, five days ago, Alison had called CeCe, Mona, and Emily over for emotional support as she boxed up the majority of alcoholic substances that resided in her cabinet — _majority_ ; Alison had insisted on keeping the smallest travel bottle of Fireball, claiming, _"I don't drink it to get fucked up, I swear. I just like that it tastes like candy."_ Reluctantly, the three other girls agreed that it'd be fine but made Alison swear that she'd attempt to drink it in moderation, even if it was only a tiny bottle. The rest of the process was slow and, for Alison, tough. The three girls had sat around the living room afterwards, Alison snuggled into Emily's arms, while they exchanged ideas on what else they'd enjoy doing aside from going to clubs and bars. At first, Alison had felt embarrassed and upset that her friends would have to (presumably) change their own lifestyles in order to help her out but, not-so-strangely, Mona had spoken up saying, _"And don't think this is only your problem, Ali. We all need some change and we're happy to do this with you."_ The younger blonde felt a bit better after that, especially when Emily's arms held her even tighter.

That same night, CeCe broke the news to Alison that she successfully convinced her company's boss into offering Alison the small writing job, which the girl gratefully accepted and started two days after. The position's description was that Alison would be writing articles on smaller, local businesses with interesting stories and backgrounds. One story in particular was her favorite (and her first self-instructed assignment): the story of No End Tattoo Parlor. Because of the need for more research, Alison spent the day at the shop, subtly trying to distract Emily in the most discreet ways possible. For the majority of her time there, she paid close attention to the detailed work on the walls, the overall hygiene of the place, the maturity, and the employees. This was done by sitting in the shop's lounge for an extended amount of time before Brixton invited her to watch Emily work.

" _Seriously?"_ Emily had partly-hissed at Brixton who smirked.

" _Think of this as a pop-quiz, Neo. Don't get too distracted."_

Surprisingly (or maybe not so much), Emily kept a steady hand while Alison sat close by. The young, female client made small talk with both her tattoo artist and Alison who sat in one of the corners of the room. The blonde made sure to ask questions if she had any for her article, wondering what Emily had to become certified in before she even started working with people's actual skin. She was actually quite impressed with how many certifications Emily had to achieve (and her girlfriend's professionalism): the completion of a bloodborne pathogens test and CPR class amongst the rest. Once the artist had finished, Alison asked the client (who already had a few tattoos) what the fresh piece will feel like for the next few days. The girl had laughed, saying, _"Just a small sunburn, really. It'll peel like a bitch but I love it."_ Alison nodded her head as the girl finished paying and walked out satisfied.

All in all, Alison had become a bit happier throughout the last several days, especially with Emily staying over every so often. It's gotten pretty steamy, Alison thinks to herself, but she'd be lying if she said that she didn't _want_ it to become heated. Honestly, she's usually the one initiating it in the first place, not to say that Emily doesn't have those moments where she pulls the other girl into a random, heated make out session — once again, she'd be lying if she said that she didn't thoroughly enjoy it.

On the finances side of things, sure, Alison has a long way to go regarding paying her parents off, however she's finally begun to feel like she's getting somewhere on her own; the blonde has been buying her own food and paying her own bills, all while keeping some money aside to give to her parents. She's keeping a healthy living while working towards a set goal and that's what helps her through long days within those brick walls.

As she walks along the crowded sidewalk, Alison brushes her arm against her small bag, making sure to feel for the thick, compact envelope with a few pieces of paper inside. She turns one more corner before coming face to face with the giant, glass building where her parents have earned the life that they currently live and boast about. The front doors are large and there are quite a few sets of them, pair by pair consuming the front of the building. Standing aside all sets of doors are a number of men dressed in security-wear.

She takes a deep breath before entering the building and walking up to the extended, silver front desk. Surrounding the long desk are small, fake potted plants and fancy chairs on each side of the lobby, some wall-mounted televisions flashing red and green stock numbers and percentages. She definitely didn't miss this building or even the idea of it. They're just marketers, really, but anything that her parents do and/or have done in the past seems so dreadful and it makes Alison cringe. She used to _love_ her parents, believe it or not — okay, maybe for the first two years of her life. Alison shakes her head as she reaches the desk, checking her nails as she waits for the man's attention.

Once the slim, ghost-like attendant looks up from one of the central computers, she speaks.

"Alison DiLaurentis," she tries not to sound too disgusted. "I'm here to see my parents."

The man's eyes narrow before they widen and he taps a few buttons on the phone while picking up the receiver. After a pause, he informs the other person on the line that Alison is in the lobby — Alison assumes it's her mother on the other line as she hears a long _"Ohh."_

Rolling her eyes at the man who finally buzzes open a separate elevator for her, Alison steps into the metal box and ( _very_ quickly) finds herself staring down a long, fancy-looking hallway. She blinks hard before focusing on her feet, not wanting to be reminded of where she is and who she's about to see, however eventually comes to a halt at a large set of double doors labeled " _DiLaurentis._ " Alison glares at the chosen name plate before hitting the button next to one of the doors.

Almost immediately, the left door unlatches automatically and she (begrudgingly) enters. Stepping into a large room that looks like a glorified version of the president's oval office, she sees her father's name tag sitting atop a marble, artistic desk. The room is occupied by comfortable-looking arm chairs and awkward statues that were _probably_ deemed "works of art."

"What a pleasant surprise," Alison's mom walks out of the conjoined office, wearing a tight, dark purple dress complimented by a pearl necklace and earrings. Her hair is pinned up and her cheeks look like a makeup kit exploded nearby, causing Alison to raise her eyebrows slightly.

Next, her father walks in closeby, following in his wife's footsteps as he greets Alison with a creepy smile. As soon as he steps into the room, Alison can smell his cheap (actually, most likely _extremely_ expensive) cologne and the faint smell of whiskey — unless that's also the cologne, Alison muses.

"That's not exactly the word I'd use," Alison snaps quickly, the weight of Elliott's words still floating around her head.

"Now, now, Alison," her father speaks, "we tried to be the good guys. You didn't take too kindly to that."

The blonde starts to lose her patience within seconds of arriving, visibly regretting the visit already.

"Really?" she bites back. "The _'good guys'_? You told Elliott that I wasn't worth anything."

Mrs. DiLaurentis tilts her head slightly, making a _tsk-tsk_ sound with her tongue before she speaks, "If I'm not mistaken, he's the one who said that and we—"

"—agreed with him," Alison finishes. "Because that's much better, right?"

"You two could have been so happy, Alison, and you ruined that. It's shameful and, quite frankly, I don't blame him for leaving," her father walks towards one of the big windows as he continues to speak. "He told us about your drinking problems. That's no way to fix the problems that you've created. You've got to own up to them," he tightens his necktie while standing in front of the window.

The young blonde's eyes nearly begin to water before she shakes her head in protest, changing the subject so she can get it over with and never see her parents ever again.

"I just wanted to come here so I could tell you, in person, that I've started a new job and I'll be paying off whatever I owe you," she reaches into her small bag and pulls out the envelope holding a few bank checks. "After that, I want nothing to do with you," the blonde tosses the thick envelope onto her father's desk.

The older woman half-leans, half-sits on the big desk and hangs her head, laughing a bit. Her father just remains at the window, seemingly talking to himself about whatever building they're working on in the distance.

"This is ridiculous, honey," her mother finally looks up. "You're _always_ going to need us and that's _okay_ ," she continues, "we'll always be willing to help you out."

"I'm doing just fine on my own," Alison stands her ground.

"Elliott says otherwise," Mr. DiLaurentis speaks up, turning around and staring at his daughter.

Alison tightens her grip on the small purse when she bites back, "Elliott is dead to me."

"That's not nice," her mother's eyebrows furrow.

"I don't really care," Alison darkly laughs. "Stay away from me and tell your little messenger the same."

Not even a second later, Mrs. DiLaurentis is changing the subject, completely ignoring her daughter's request.

"Elliott told us about someone named…" she looks towards her husband before remembering, "Emily, I believe."

Alison's blood runs cold at the thought of Elliott running his mouth about the girl that has been nothing but kind, gentle, and understanding. Quite frankly, she's livid that he even dared to mention Emily to her parents, but she's not all that surprised.

Her father speaks up as he mimics his wife's position, leaning against the bulky desk, "He said the two of you seemed quite _close_. You moved on a bit quickly, don't you think?"

Alison's bites her inner cheek, attempting to keep herself in control; it's none of their business who she moved onto or when she moved on. As far as Alison's concerned, she grew _completely_ tired of Elliott soon after she accepted his proposal. Stupid, really, that she even bothered saying "yes" — and sadly ironic. He wasn't a good man before, but he was an even worse man afterwards.

"Your claims against Elliott… how do you know she won't do the same?" he continues, speaking with his head tilted and arms crossed.

Though Alison has no idea what he's insinuating, she automatically goes on the defensive for her girlfriend, tilting her head to mimic his posture with narrowed eyes.

"First off… they aren't _'claims'_ ," her tone has a sharp bite, "and secondly, she's _nothing_ like Elliott."

"So, you trust her, then?" Mr. DiLaurentis digs further, somewhat sensing partial discomfort.

The younger blonde sighs deeply, laughing bitterly as she presses her tongue to her cheek before answering his question.

"More than most people, yes," the words flow easily, and it takes Alison, herself, aback a bit; she hadn't realized that she's become more trusting of the beautiful brunette that had wandered into her life pretty recently — well, Alison knew that they were both falling quite hard, but she supposes that the trust started to come naturally.

"Well, that doesn't mean much," the older man chuckles and shakes his head. "'Most people' could be classified as filthy bank robbers or second-hand surgeons."

"Have you ever thought about _why_ I have such a hard time trusting people?"

"It's no one else's fault but your own for confiding in the wrong people," he raises his hands in defense while his wife pays attention to the conversation. "How well do you _really_ know this girl?"

"I know that she's dedicated and wants what's best for me," Alison responds. "She actually cares. It's refreshing."

"I'm glad she takes care of you, dear," Mrs. DiLaurentis finally cuts in and looks at Alison with soft (yet conniving) eyes, " _someone_ has to."

Alison shakes her head as she looks at her parents incredulously, hoping this is their last meeting.

Speaking softly, she reminds them, "Just stay away from me, my friends, and _especially_ Emily."

Backing out of the office, the door automatically closes behind her and she speed-walks down the hallway, her desire to escape the building quickly mounting. After smacking the elevator button a few times and seeing that it isn't arriving anytime soon, Alison chooses the quicker alternative and jogs down the multiple staircases — there are a lot of steps, but she doesn't care at this point.

Once she reaches the building's lobby, the blonde is short of breath and her head is spinning, however she feels ten times lighter than she did when she arrived; she's happy that it's finally over with. All she wants to do now is go home, eat something, and wait for Emily's shift to be over.

So, as she gets seated in another taxi, that's what she looks forward to: going home and seeing Emily. She thinks about how it'll feel to be cuddled in the other girl's arms after this stressful day, even if the trip only took up about three hours in total.

She quickly types out a message to Emily as the vehicle continues to stop periodically with the traffic:

" _I'm heading home now. Thank God."_

It's towards the middle of Emily's shift and Alison's not exactly expecting a message back straight away, however it comes in rather quickly and she breathes a sigh of relief since taxi rides aren't all that entertaining.

 **E** — "How did it go? Did anyone fall out of any windows?"

Alison giggles at the text regarding one of the various phrases that she had used before Emily left for work; _"A better solution would be if they were to, you know, just casually fall out of one of their extremely expensive and flashy windows."_ Emily had shot her a look as she gathered her things, claiming it isn't nice to wish unfortunate things upon people who clearly deserve it.

 **E** — "Your silence isn't very comforting…"

 **A** — "Nope, unfortunately. My dad was close though."

 **E** — "How do you feel now?"

 **A** — "Eh. I feel… new, sort of. Not sure if it's good or bad yet but I'll keep you updated."

 **E** — "Well I'm coming over after work so I'll be sure to scope out the results then. ;)"

Alison blushes at Emily's _attempt_ at flirting; she's not always the most smooth when she tries her hardest but, for whatever reason, Alison enjoys it.

 **E** — "A client just came in so I'll text you as soon as I can. Enjoy the ride home. I know how much you love long taxi rides."

She groans at the other girl's sarcasm before responding once more.

 **A** — "I'll be here… waiting…"

 **A** — "And I'll probably still be here once you're done with work because this traffic won't move worth a damn."

The blonde knows that Emily's already long gone into one of the back rooms but she just can't help but dramatically complain; it keeps her occupied. She puts her phone down and stares out the window, listening to the sound of car horns honking and watching vehicles cut others off. Shaking her head, she lays back and tries to relax for the rest of the ride back to her house.

X X X

Later that same day, Alison finishes up the article that she had written on No End. She thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the parlor, overall, especially since it held a fond memory for her: meeting Emily. The employees had great, individualistic personalities and the shop prides itself on being hygienic. Walking into the tattoo parlor, Alison never realized how much time and effort it took into preparing things for clients from the scheduling, to the accounts, all the way to the actual inking preparation. It was interesting, she decided, and now she can almost fully understand what made Emily want to pursue such an occupation.

Alison looks at her phone and glares at the time: 11:35 P.M. Checking Emily's last text, she sees the timestamp at 11:01 P.M., saying that she was just leaving work. It's odd, in Alison's opinion, because Emily usually takes the time to call or message her whether she's walking or taking a taxi back to her apartment. Additionally, Emily's apartment is only a few blocks away from the parlor, meaning that it wouldn't take much time either way. Alison finally brushes it off as, possibly, Emily's phone died and she had to do some things before finding the charger. After all, the two had been texting since Alison arrived back home.

The blonde waits ten more minutes, her worries starting to consume her after seven of those ten. Walking over to the kitchen area and finding some water, she picks up the phone and taps the icon next to Emily's name. She waits multiple rings before hanging up and trying again — same as before; no answer, and the phone just keeps ringing. Alison places the device down on the kitchen's center island with a grunt.

As she taps her nails on the counter's shiny surface, her phone begins to ring with Emily's name gracing the screen.

"Em?" Alison looks around the room as she answers.

" _Hey, Ali,_ " Emily sounds extremely out of it.

"Where've you been?"

" _I'm in the hospital."_

Alison starts to panic immediately, slightly pacing back and forth, not being able to formulate a full sentence. Though Emily is able to speak which means she's most likely pretty stable, the fact that her girlfriend is in the hospital at all is enough to spark some nervousness inside of Alison; her dislike of hospitals in general doesn't exactly help, either.

" _I hear you pacing. I'm alright. Don't worry,"_ Emily says, though she doesn't sound all that convincing since she's practically mumbling and pausing between each sentence.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Alison declares as she grabs her keys from the hallway table and twists the door's inside lock.

" _No, you don't—"_

Emily begins to speak as Alison hangs up on her. The blonde makes a mental note to remind Emily why she should never question her choices, especially when it comes to her loved ones in bad situations.

Shutting her pre-locked front door, she runs down the steps and spots a taxi sitting in a nearby parking lot. She jogs across the street and, since the driver had mutually spotted her as she ran towards the vehicle, she opens the unlocked door and slides into the seat. After telling the driver where to go (the only nearby hospital), Alison leans her head back against the seat and takes a deep breath, her initial panic subsiding and being replaced with deeper worry. Is Emily sick? Is she injured? Is she _okay_?

The vehicle comes to a stop within five minutes since the hospital is not too far from Alison's neighborhood; it's actually relatively close and she could have walked, but she wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment.

The hospital's front lights are yellow and ambulances circle the front entrance, both dropping off and picking up patients. Alison barges through the front doors rather dramatically, immediately finding the front desk so she can ask where Emily's staying.

"Hi," Alison looks through the small window and tries to figure out what to say, "I'm looking for Emily…" _Shit_. Alison internally smacks herself for not remembering Emily's last name.

She starts to panic harder when the nurse looks at her, expecting more than just a first name.

" _Um_ ," Alison looks around and tries to think before she spots Hanna walking towards the hospital's front doors. Great timing, Alison praises.

A few days prior, Hanna and Alison had finally met face to face when Alison stopped by to see Emily's apartment. The two had hit it off quickly (much like their famous FaceTime conversation), and the three ended up ordering some food together. As expected, Hanna had brought up embarrassing stories of Emily from when they were in high school, not failing to mention her shit cooking skills before her mom forced her into taking classes. _"You'll have to cook for me sometime,"_ Alison had eyed the embarrassed brunette, earning the response, _"I don't cook at other people's houses, just in case something ends up in flames."_

Sliding away from the woman at the desk, she steps in front of Hanna who doesn't seem all that caught off guard.

"What room is Emily in?" Alison asks Hanna who stares at her, almost expressionless.

Before answering, Hanna lunges and wraps Alison in a tight hug, causing Alison to freak out a bit more; is Emily _okay_? Did something happen while she was on her way to the hospital?

When Hanna lets go of the other girl, Alison looks at her, clearly still waiting for an answer. The other girl now wears a cheeky expression, smiling gently in slight embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Hanna confesses, "I just really needed a hug. She's laying down in room 203."

With a thankful smile, Alison brushes past Hanna and finds the stairs, groaning once she reaches the top; she's reached her stair quota for the entire month. Turning the corner, she sees that 203 is only two rooms down the hallway. Alison stops suddenly, fiddling with her hands and staring at the floor as she takes a few deep breaths; she has no clue what's wrong with Emily or what even caused her to be brought to the hospital, but she's praying that it's nothing too serious. Honestly, she doesn't think that she'd be able to bear seeing Emily in rough shape for whatever reason.

Her feet begin to move again as she passes the two rooms before reaching 203's doorway. Taking one more deep breath, Alison steps into the small-ish, white room to see Emily with a medium-sized bandage on the side of her forehead accompanied by several other bandages on her knees, one of her elbows, and her hands. A few specs of deep red are visibly absorbing through the bandage on her forehead and more on her knees. A police officer is standing next to the bed with a notepad in hand, the receiver on his belt frequently creating static. He mutters, "Excuse me while I take this," to Emily as the brunette slightly nods and turns her head to see her girlfriend timidly standing nearby.

"Hi there," Emily shoots Alison a dopey smile.

"What happened?" Alison isn't in the mood to dodge the subject.

Her eyes are already brimming with tears as she sits on the edge of the bed and gently touches a corner of Emily's forehead bandage, feeling the soft medical fabric.

"It was a small accident, Ali, it's okay," Emily defends the incident. "I was crossing the street and _bam_ ," Alison shutters at the description and sniffles, though no tears have fallen yet.

Emily continues, "I have a concussion but it's not too, _too_ severe. Still can't do anything intense for a bit though."

Before Alison can respond, they both turn their heads when the officer returns to his previous standing position with his notepad, speaking in a deep, raspy voice.

"Alright, Miss. I just need to double-check a few of these details so we can have them on hand for the future," he says as he writes something down. "The vehicle that hit you… you claim that it was a dark-grey Cadillac. Do you know what model?"

Alison's eyes grow as she focuses on the tile floor, her body becoming limp as Emily describes the vehicle.

"No, sorry. I'm not all that good with cars," she confesses. "I only know that it's a Cadillac because my grandfather had one."

"That's okay," the officer smiles softly as he scribbles something else onto the small pad. "Also, you said that there's a red sticker on the upper left corner of the back window, right?"

The blonde feels like throwing up as Emily continues to remember what the vehicle looked like. She tries to remain calm as Emily lays in a hospital bed with a damaged body after her ex-fiance had, most likely _intentionally_ , hit her with his car. A fresh batch of anger stirs within Alison as she bites hard on her tongue.

"Last thing and then I'll be out of your hair," he chuckles. "Do you confirm that you don't want to press charges against the driver? You can change this in the future, however we will need to review traffic cameras and collect more statements."

Before Emily can respond (and she was _just_ about to), Alison gets off of the bed and interrupts.

"Emily, think about this for a second," the blonde pleads with her girlfriend. "Please, just think about pressing charges—"

The injured brunette has no idea what Alison is going on about and why she's suddenly looking like she's about to throw up, but she responds to the officer so they can be alone.

"I do not want to press charges," she firmly states as Alison's mouth opens. "Thank you, officer," Emily continues so Alison can't get another word in.

Once he's out of the room and walking down the hall, Alison paces back and forth in front of Emily's hospital bed. She bites the nail on her thumb while playing with the small charm at the end of her necklace, barely blinking as she continues walking the length of the tile floor. Emily pushes the bed's pillows up so she can shift her body upwards and sit up. Her body aches and she grunts as she slowly lifts herself into a sitting position. Finally situated, she rubs at her hip and winces a bit before turning her attention back to the pacing blonde.

"You should have pressed charges," Alison mutters as she keeps her eyes off of Emily.

Emily shakes her head, "Why do you want me to press charges so badly?"

"Because it was Elliott!" the blonde raises her voice. "It was his car, Emily. He fucking hit you with his car and you won't do anything about it when you _should_. He deserves to rot somewhere."

Emily bites the inside of her cheek as she understands why Alison's demeanor changed so suddenly during her talk with the officer. It's a valid reason and, honestly, Emily would probably be throwing Elliott in a lake herself if their roles were reversed but she isn't going to bother with legal issues when she feels manageably okay. She wishes that she could throw his ass in jail just for Alison's sake but she has so many doubts about what happened almost an hour ago.

"Come here," Emily half-instructs, half-asks.

The other girl complies and sits in her previous spot, her body facing Emily but her eyes looking towards the monitors on the wall. Emily plays with the other girls fingers, gently rubbing her thumb along the palm of Alison's hand.

"Why won't you do anything about it?" Alison speaks, her voice shaky and clearly unhappy.

"Ali," she gets the other girl to look at her, "I was so exhausted when I got out of work. It's possible that I was passing through the crosswalk before the signal told me to. If I have them check the camera's footage and I wasn't supposed to be walking at that time, I could lose a lot," she explains. "It's not worth it. I have plenty of money for the medical bills, but I'm not bothering with anything legal. I can't."

"What if he sues for damage to his precious car? Then what?'

"I don't think he cares all that much since he's the one that drove away like his life depended on it," Emily tries to joke but her voice dies down towards the end when she realizes that it isn't going to make anything better.

Alison shakes her head again.

"Please, don't try and use my injury as a weapon to fight Elliott," Emily says as she holds Alison's hand tighter.

The other girl looks towards her and lowers her eyes, fresh tears threatening to spill.

"You wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me," the blonde looks away and shifts her jaw.

"Yeah," Emily purses her lips, "but I wouldn't be this happy, either."

Although Emily's words put Alison a bit more at ease, she still feels extremely tense and the size of the room is causing her to become dizzy. Her head is spinning from the day's entirety. First, she had to force herself through a visit with her parents, and now her girlfriend is lying in a hospital bed because of an unfortunate part of her past.

Alison sighs, "I need to go call CeCe. I'll be right back."

She leans down and kisses the other girl's forehead, carefully keeping away from the bandage and refraining from putting too much pressure on her fragile body.

Walking into the hallway, the nurse's station comes into view. She sees Brixton leaning against the desk, stressfully wiping at his eyes as a red-haired and also heavily-tattooed woman speaks to him softly. Alison notes that this is probably Brixton's wife, Alicia, who Emily had spoken about a time or two before. She overhears Brixton once he starts speaking again, making out things such as "They didn't even fucking stop" and "I was only steps behind her." Alison wonders if Brixton would blame her for this if he found out that it was partially her fault for exposing Emily to the sorry excuse for a man known as Elliott Rollins. She pulls her phone out of her back pocket as she watches Alicia calm Brixton down, hopefully explaining that it isn't his fault.

Before hitting CeCe's contact name, Alison sees a dark-haired man walking in her direction; the one who had brought this hospital visit upon all of them. She bites her bottom lip immediately and walks towards him, stopping in his path with an angry frame. Luckily enough, they are out of Emily's view so she can't try and intervene, nor can Elliott try and speak to his hit-and-run victim.

"Oh, it's you," Elliott speaks with a heavy accent. "I just came to express my deepest sympathy," he exaggerates every word, intentionally dripping each syllable with a hint of venom.

When Alison's eyes squint at him as she becomes even more angry, he explains, "I was on my way back towards the city when I saw the accident happen."

"Yeah, I'm sure you had a great view of the accident," she remarks bitterly.

"Why so hostile, Alison? I only came to see if she's okay," he tries to play it off cool.

While the blonde continues to stand her ground, Elliott tilts his head a bit, almost to belittle her. With this, Brixton intervenes and steps in front of the other man.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think Alison wants to talk to you and, quite frankly, that's enough of a reason for me to step in and remind you that you're in a public institution _and_ ," Brixton tilts his head to mock Elliott, "we wouldn't want to create a disturbance of any kind."

The other dark-haired man steps back a few inches, clearly not expecting to be matched by someone with a bigger-boned frame and a not-so-friendly looking appearance.

"You're not welcome here," Brixton speaks again as he steps forward, "so I suggest you leave both Alison and Emily alone."

Alicia comes over and places a hand on her husband's shoulder, making sure that he remembers not to follow through on his threat of creating a "disturbance."

Finally, speaking to all three of them but directing his words mostly at the blonde who hasn't backed down one bit, Elliott grins, "It's your lucky day. I'm _finally_ moving on with my life. I have been for quite some time now, actually," he leans in closely to Alison's ear in order to whisper, "Emily was just collateral damage."

She doesn't respond before he backs up and walks down the hall, mainly because she would much rather be strangling the man right now. Instead, she releases a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding in the first place; the girl is suddenly exhausted and just wants to go home. Unfortunately, she's determined to stay with Emily for the time being until she's given the O.K. to go back to her own apartment.

Alison turns towards Brixton and Alicia, nodding a silent "thank you" for scaring Rollins away.

"Let me know if he ever comes back," Brixton lowers his head as his demeanor softens.

She nods again and he smiles before focusing on his wife once more. It's nice, Alison thinks, to have people that will protect her, even if she believes she doesn't deserve it. Sure, both CeCe and Mona have always taken care of her but it's nice to stumble upon new people who will do the same. The blonde is happy that her family seems to be growing and she's thankful that it's because of one person in particular.

Peeking through the doorway, she watches Emily who is now facing the TV hung in the opposite corner of the room, most likely trying to occupy herself so she doesn't fall asleep. Alison swallows hard as she takes another look at the bandages covering Emily's skin; this girl deserves the world and Alison finally makes the decision that she's going to be the one to give it to her.

* * *

 **So… *finishes popping the tires to Elliott's Cadillac* ...who do you hate more, Elliott or Alison's parents? These annoying characters (or gnats, more like) will be mentioned throughout the rest of the story since they've dedicated their lives to making Alison miserable, apparently… (I say "apparently" even though I'm the one who wrote the story). On the bright side: do you smell some trust forming between Alison and Emily (on Alison's end)? I do.**

 **Okay, right now, I think it's a good time to point out that this story is extremely condensed time-wise (even though I did my best to space things out), so I apologize if anyone feels like Ali's/Em's feelings progress too fast.**

 **I'll see you all on Wednesday (and hopefully it's after a few more glorious Emison scenes on PLL). Next chapter is going to be pretty fun, and it's going to set up a few, small subplots that I think you'll enjoy.**

 **Before I go, I just wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelming support you've given me for this story. I'm currently working towards a Creative Writing major and you're all fueling me to get this degree done so I can (eventually and hopefully) create some TV shows for you someday — that's the dream.**

 **Like always… review, follow, favorite, kick me in the shin since I say this after every update, etc. Also, if you'd like, ask a question or two in the review section; things about the story that you'd like to know. Example: Will either of these girls ever get a damn car? (To answer the example Q, yes… yes they will).**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: To answer a couple of questions I've received —**

 **Q: Will Mary appear in the story?** **—** **A: Unfortunately no. When I started writing this, I didn't have enough of information on her personality, and I tried to keep Alison's family pretty selective since they're all pretty crappy (aside from Jason, who will appear later on).**

 **Q: Will we ever meet the girl Elliott cheated on Alison with?** **—** **A: Yes… and it's probably not the type of confrontation you'd imagine.**

 **Back to the story... I'm lovin' your responses to Alison's parents' entrance, so now it's time to see what you think of Emily's parents...**

 ***drum roll***

* * *

Mona sits in one of the few chairs near the room's lone, bulky window. She's holding the TV remote, criticizing almost everything that's currently airing while Alison sits on the edge of Emily's hospital bed, waiting for CeCe to return from checking on a few things and taking an important call somewhere down the hall. The outside weather is sunny and warm, causing Emily to complain every five minutes that she just wants to go for a nice jog. Of course, with her fresh wounds both internal and external, there's not much she can do anyway.

The night had gone by slowly for the both of them. Alicia had ventured into Emily's room sometime around 1:30 A.M. to let her patient know that she could rest for a bit if she felt tired (and tired was an understatement, really), but she would have to be woken up every now and then for both mild pain medication and to make sure that her brain is still operating smoothly. _"I thought you aren't supposed to sleep with a concussion,"_ Alison had worried, to which Alicia half-debunked the assumption with, _"Sleep is an important part in the brain's recovery, so, a little sleep will actually improve the functioning."_ When Alison still looked worried, Alicia spoke again, _"She'll be okay, I promise."_

After that, the red-haired woman walked out of the room with Emily's bedside chart. Alison had slid the wooden armchair closer to Emily so she could rest nearby, but the other girl simply looked at her like she was an idiot.

" _Do you really think I'm going to make you sleep in that chair all night?"_

" _I'm not going home, Em."_

" _I didn't say that."_

Emily had lifted the soft blanket and convinced the other girl to climb in, carefully pushing over so they could both comfortably fit without too much pressure on Emily's already-formed bruises. Alison was resistant to cuddling in any way, shape, or form at first, however Emily made it quite impossible to refuse after a while — actually, she didn't even give Alison a chance to refuse. A few minutes after getting "comfortable," the brunette turned her body into a complex (yet cozy) position so she could cling onto the girl laying next to her, kissing Alison on the cheek before falling asleep. Alison didn't mind, of course, but she was so afraid to move during the night that she laid in the same position for hours, ultimately resulting in a few neck cramps once she fully woke up in the morning.

CeCe and Mona had shown up around noontime, both offering their assistance in case Emily and/or Alison need it. Straight away, Mona had jumped into the nitty gritty, suggesting that they all take a beach trip since her boss had offered his huge Cape Cod house for four days since his family decided to take a trip further away instead.

" _You can even invite Hanna, Emily,"_ Mona had suggested while CeCe's eyes widened as she looked back at Emily. _"Whoever you want, really. The house has five bedrooms and two baths, but the space is huge, so, honestly, we could probably fit an entire football team in there."_

In the end, Emily agreed that it sounded like a fun idea, earning an excited round of clapping from Mona who jumped up to call her boss. CeCe and Alison both seemed excited about the trip as well, Alison blushing a bit when CeCe commented, _"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you two will be sharing a bed."_ Emily, trying to remain collected but internally blushing just the same, decided to turn the tables and ask, _"Does that mean you and Mona will be sharing one as well?"_ CeCe just wiggled her finger in Emily's direction; _"Watch it."_

"Alison," the taller blonde says as she storms back into the room. "Your asshole ex-fiance did this, right?" she refers to Emily's accident with wide eyes.

"Mhm, thanks for reminding me," Alison sarcastically remarks with a bitter smile.

"Oh, sorry," the other girl shakes her head before speaking again. "Karma must have hit him real hard and real fast. Like… _overnight_ fast," she says as she holds her phone out for Alison to see.

Alison looks at the phone's screen and reads the headline of an article: _"Big City Company Falls Hard_ — _Accounting Scandal Outed."_ The picture shows Elliott's prominent New York building in the background, company logo shown at the very top of the structure; a building she's visited many times — _too_ many, if you asked her. It was often his go-to place for dates; he'd use his desk as a dining table and discussed business ventures as Alison sipped red wine and tried to act like she wasn't disgusted.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Alison continues to read as Emily looks at the article as well, interested in what's going to happen to Elliott.

"What happened? Sorry, I don't know anything about big businesses," the brunette says sheepishly.

Mona walks over to the other girls and grabs the phone, reading the article before speaking.

"Put it this way," she huffs. "Pretty boy and the number-counting kiddos decided that it would be okay if they, well, increased the numbers so they gain more income in a short amount of time," she reads a bit more before speaking again, "and, _ooh_ , looks like one of those kiddos accidentally spilt the secret."

"Thank you," Emily says in an impressed tone. "So, what's going on now?"

"For now, he can kiss that dark-grey Cadillac goodbye along with a good chunk of his bank account," Mona continues, "oh and he's been arrested but time hasn't been set yet."

She shrugs before walking back towards the window.

"Arrested or not, it's likely he won't be in there for long," CeCe speaks regretfully. "He'll find a way to weasel out of it whether it's with money or his _charm_."

"Ew," Alison comments sharply, earning a snicker from Emily who is laying back on the bed's soft pillows.

" _Mhm_ ," CeCe and Mona both grunt at the same time, causing Alison to slightly duck her head.

Emily just stares between all three of them, assuming that they had told Alison (probably repeatedly) that Elliott was "ew."

"Alright," Mona announces as she stands up and stretches, "I'm going down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. The food is _surprisingly_ really tasty and I'm dying for one of their cinnamon rolls. Anyone coming with?"

CeCe stands up while turning to Alison, "I'm going as well, but we'll be back before we leave. Do either of you want to come? The nurse said you could walk around with company, Emily."

"I'm still pretty tired," Emily responds to CeCe before turning to her girlfriend. "I think I'm just going to stay here. You can go if you'd like."

Alison smiles, however doesn't get to reply to either girls before an older, brown-haired woman and darker-haired man are shuffling into the room, each offering a polite "Excuse me" as they pass CeCe who lingers in the doorway.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Emily sits up a bit too fast, causing her side to hurt all too quickly. She winces as Alison gently helps her back down onto the pillows, getting off of the bed when she's finished. "No, stay for a second, please," the brunette says and Alison nods towards CeCe, indicating that she'll come down in a few minutes.

"We had called Hanna because you weren't answering your phone and she told us that you got into a small accident," Emily's father speaks softly.

"But you didn't have to come this far to check up on me. I'm okay," Emily chuckles.

The room goes silent for a few moments, creating a weird and awkward tension that no one is really enjoying. Emily decides to speak up again.

"Oh, Alison, these are my parents," she says as both Pam and Wayne take turns giving Alison a head nod and soft hand shake. "Mom and dad, this is Alison, my girlfriend."

There, she said it, and she was petrified to say it in the first place. It's not that she's nervous that they won't approve of Alison because of Alison's personality, no; she's worried about how her parents are going to try and _pick apart_ Alison's personality and overall existence, even though it's perfect to Emily. They aren't _entirely_ judgmental, but they definitely hold the "a complete family is a happy family" concept close to their hearts and, if they knew Alison's background, they wouldn't be all that impressed.

"It's very nice to meet you, Alison," Mrs. Fields speaks up, giving her daughter's girlfriend a genuine, warm smile.

She then backs up and sits down in one of the chairs that Wayne had dragged closer towards the bed. Following his wife's lead, he sits down next to her.

"You two as well," Alison smiles back before turning to Emily.

As Emily shifts in the hospital bed, sitting up a bit more, her hospital gown moves to the side a bit, just exposing the front portion of her shoulder and back tattoo. Pam looks away disapprovingly and Wayne opens his eyes a bit more as he stares at his daughter who has no idea what happened. Alison, however, notices both of their changes in demeanor and, looking back towards Emily, understands why. She clears her throat and turns her head to look towards the floor, acting as if she's not bothered by the way they're judging her girlfriend — their _daughter_.

"When did you get that, Emily?" Mr. Fields is first to speak, his voice stern as he stares at Emily's shoulder.

The younger brunette is confused until she realizes what he's talking about without even bothering to look. She quickly moves her shoulder in order to push the gown back up, looking towards the window in slight embarrassment and annoyance. Soon, she turns back to gently tug on Alison's hand.

"You can go downstairs with the others. It's perfectly okay," Emily partly chuckles; she knows that Alison is probably frantically wishing that she was somewhere other than in this room with a pair of not-so-open parents and, really, she's correct — Alison's been anxiously waiting to leave ever since she felt the room's atmosphere take a drastic turn.

"Are you sure?" the blonde whispers as she timidly takes the other girl's hand for a moment.

"Positive. You've been stuck here all night. Have fun," she smiles back, though Alison is still partially torn; yes, she wants to leave, but she only wants to leave the situation — not Emily.

Reluctantly, Alison lets go of Emily's hand as Wayne silently watches the two and Pam looks around the room awkwardly. She steps into the hallway, only looking back once before she hears Wayne speak again.

"You didn't answer my question."

"A year ago, maybe," Emily sighs while shrugging.

"I thought we agreed that you could continue your little…" Pam searches for the word, " _art thing_ as long as you didn't ruin your own beautiful skin."

"I didn't agree, Mom. You tried to make that agreement for me."

"I can't believe you did this to yourself," the older woman puts her head in her hands.

"You can't even see it unless I'm wearing a tank top," Emily stresses, getting severely annoyed with this surprise visit. "Or hospital gown," she mumbles to herself.

"Wayne, say something to her," Mrs. Fields looks to her husband who seems lost in his own world.

"Emmy, you know we just want the best for you," he starts. "What if this job doesn't turn out to be permanent and you need to find a more professional one? The workplace isn't all that accepting of…" the man struggles, "creative choices."

"Well," Emily breathes out with an annoyed smile, "I'm sorry, but I can't get rid of it now."

"Don't talk to us like that. We just want you to be more aware of your choices," her mother speaks again.

"I'm doing just fine, Mom."

"Really, Emily? Last time I checked… ' _fine_ ' isn't the word to use when you're lying in a hospital bed," Pam snaps, causing Wayne to gingerly lay his hand on her forearm, whispering something such as "Breathe."

The younger girl gently shakes her head and shifts in the bed, becoming extremely irritated and just wishing she was back at her apartment or with Alison — or both. Her parents sit in their respective seats quietly, Wayne seeming a bit more collected and happy as opposed to Pam who crosses her ankles and keeps her head down while she tries to perk up.

"Your girlfriend seems sweet," Mr. Fields offers. "Pretty, too."

"She is," Emily smiles, recounting how lucky she is. "She makes me happy."

"Good," he smiles back.

"Are you two serious?" Pam speaks up after being quiet for an extended amount of time.

"I'd like to think so, yes."

Although Emily and Alison haven't discussed the extent of their life goals and hopes for the future (and Emily thinks it may be too soon for that anyway), the brunette is perfectly content with how things are going between her and the other girl. They may have their differences regarding where they've come from and how they deal with things, but it's always so… light when they're together; there's always a positive aura about the room which Emily's come to enjoy so much. Sometimes, she finds herself lying awake at night, just rehashing the day's activities including the simple things such as making eye contact and the more, extensive things such as having deep conversations or kissing for hours. Usually, however, Emily's next thought is along the lines of, _"Stop getting too attached or you'll scare her off."_ She can't help it though and, honestly, she believes that Alison can't either.

"How serious?" her mother asks with a half-knowing look, earning a grunt from her husband and a groan from her daughter. "Relax, both of you," she says before focusing on Emily alone. "Have you met her family yet?"

Emily internally groans again; she figured someone would ask but she didn't know that it'd be so soon, especially because she wasn't even aware that they were coming to visit in the first place.

"She doesn't speak to her parents that much," she settles on a half-lie, speaking in an unwavering voice.

"Why not?"

There's the extreme, unnecessary concern in her mother's voice. Emily sinks back into the pillows, immediately regretting going near this conversation at all. Before too much time passes, Emily decides to speak up again, showing no signs of straying away from the conversation; she needs to nip this discussion in the ass and quick.

"Because her parents aren't good people," she states as she tilts her head.

"No one is perfect, Emmy," her father interrupts.

"She should be grateful that she has parents in the first place. They provided her with food and a roof over—" Mrs. Fields begins to rant, though is cut off when Emily raises her voice a bit.

"No offense to either of you, but you _don't_ know her parents and you don't know what they've put her through. I haven't been with her for that long but I've seen how much they've damaged her and they don't care what they've done," Emily speaks firmly, her eyes going back and forth between the two of them.

At her tone, her father eases back into his chair and sighs. Little does Emily know, however, he's proud that she's sticking up for someone she must care so deeply about. Emily's mother, on the other hand, is having a harder time processing her daughter's words.

"So, she's just going to give up on them? That's her family, Emily. That's her blood and she—"

"Alison is much better off without them and you need to learn that not all families are together and perfect. I'm sure she'd love to pick up the phone and call her family and hear how much they're sorry for the things that they've done but that's not going to happen. I'm sorry if that bugs you," Emily rants, "but it _shouldn't_ bug you. She's an…" she struggles to find an accurate word, "extraordinary person with a huge heart and I think that's what matters. Don't you?"

"Of course that's what matters, sweetie, but—"

"Let it go, hun. She's right," Mr. Fields speaks up, earning a small head nod from his daughter.

"You're okay with this?" Pam looks at him with an expression full of disbelief and confusion.

"It's not my place to _not_ be okay with it," he looks back towards the girl who lays propped up against a mountain of fluffy pillows. "We're sorry, baby. I'm sure we can take the time to… be a bit more understanding."

Pam shakes her head, "I don't understand. I have no doubt that she's a nice girl, but I just don't understand how you can turn your back on family."

Emily pauses before speaking quietly, "I didn't sleep much last night and I think I should rest. Are you leaving straight away, or…"

"We're heading into the city before going back home," Wayne speaks again. "Haven't seen New York for a bit and I figured your mom and I could spend the day in the city."

They get up and, taking turns, lean down to hug their daughter. The hugs are brief both because of Emily's physical state and the heated conversation that had just transpired. Before following his wife out the door, Emily's father speaks softly.

"Get well soon, okay? I'm sorry for…" his eyes search the room, "not being very supportive. We live totally different lives and I'm sure your mom and I will find a way to learn how to admire your lifestyle, in time."

"Thank you," she smiles. "Love you both."

He nods and disappears from the room, Mrs. Fields already towards the end of the wing's hallway. Once he's gone, Emily sighs and shifts lower onto the hospital bed. She puts her palms over her eyes and rubs at her head, delicately maneuvering around the bandage; today took an extremely stressful turn as she internally debates whether or not she should be honest with Alison about what her and her parents discussed. Emily wants to be honest with Alison, of course, but she doesn't see the point in upsetting the other girl. It's not that her parents don't like Alison, obviously, but they clearly wish that she came from a "healthy" and happy family — like their family. Emily rolls her eyes; there have been plenty of instances when her family was everything _but_ healthy and happy. Although her immediate family gets along moderately fine (take this visit, for example), the extended Fields family seems to have some difficulty… communicating. There's love, no doubt, but there's also a heaping side of drama and gossip. Growing up, Emily grew anxious whenever a family event drew closer; she loved when relatives came to visit but the shit-talking they brought with them was just too much; _"Anne is just so controlling. Did you see how she was treating her husband?"_ a distant aunt would whisper as Emily rolled her eyes while thinking, _"You were just telling her that you two should have dinner sometime."_

As Emily relaxes a bit, lost in her own little world, she hears a group of three familiar voices come closer to the door. Alison, a soft smile gracing her face, peeks into the doorway as Mona passes her in order to claim her chair from before.

"They left?" Alison questions as she remains peeking into the room.

"Mhm," Emily hums.

"Oh," she looks towards the floor. "I just have to talk to CeCe for a minute and then I'll be all yours."

"Ew," comes Mona's comment, though she's smirking while tapping away on her phone.

"Can't wait," Emily smiles.

"Ew again," Mona makes another comment as Alison shoots her a look before walking back into the hallway.

Alison walks a few doors down before reaching a small sitting area with CeCe following closeby. The taller blonde sits next to Alison who looks around the hallway anxiously.

"You're looking pretty sketchy, Kiddo. What's wrong?" CeCe snickers, earning a glare from the other girl.

"I just realized I miscalculated how much money I need for bills this month," she purses her lips. "And, for some reason, I gave my parents much more than I should have for the month. It was an impulsive decision," she groans at herself.

"Ali, if you need money then I can always lend you some. It's not a big deal."

"No, no. I don't need to feel like I owe anyone else money," Alison shakes her head.

"Really, it's okay. There's no pressure on paying me back. I know you're not going to skip town and head to the Bahamas with it," she jokes.

Alison shakes her head again, sighing, "I just… do you know any ways to make some quick money? Like a side hobby, maybe. It could be knitting for all I care."

CeCe raises her eyebrows, "Well…"

"Don't go there."

"Relax, I was kidding," CeCe recovers. "Why don't you find a roommate? Better yet, why don't you ask Emily to live with you? I'm sure she'd be more than happy to bunk with you," she bounces her eyebrows in a seductive manner.

"I've thought about it, honestly. I mean…" Alison tilts her head, "she already stays over pretty often."

"Wait, have you…" the other girl's eyes widen with curiosity, a devilish smirk playing across her face.

"What? No," Alison giggles. "No, we haven't."

"Why the hell not?"

"I'm trying to have a serious discussion here," Alison stresses, however still partly giggling.

"So am I," the other girl offers a rebuttal. "I want to know what's taking you so long to—"

" _Shh_ ," Alison slaps at the other girl's knee.

CeCe rubs at her knee in a dramatic way while side-eyeing the girl next to her.

"It's not like I don't want to, Ce. We're just taking things slow, I think," she squints her eyes as she thinks about their relationship; they've gotten pretty heated lately but, surprisingly, they've always managed to, _somehow_ , drop everything and continue on with the day like nothing had happened. It's not that they _want_ to stop, but Emily, usually, has to leave for work or something else comes up.

"You _think_?"

"Yes…" Alison bites the inside of her cheek as she plays with the charm dangling from her necklace.

" _Mhm_ ," CeCe hums. "You know what I think?"

Alison massages her temple as she prepares for CeCe's inevitable lecture.

"I think that you should put on that pretty little lace bra and panty set and make it happen," she looks at Alison and begins to speak again when she sees the other girl about to protest. "Don't even try telling me that you're not sure if she wants to have sex with you, Alison. I notice more than you think I do."

"That sounded really creepy," Alison chuckles.

"Maybe, but I'm also right and you're most likely going to need to make the first move. Sorry, Kiddo," she smirks as Alison's eyes widen, realizing how accurate CeCe's words seem to be as she recalls waiting days for Emily to kiss her. She grew impatient, eventually, and took matters into her own hands.

Alison shakes her head, "Do you think asking her to move in is too soon?"

"She seems crazy about you, Ali. She's protected you and cared for you and, like you said, Emily's spent quite a bit of time at your house since you've met. You practically already live together," CeCe says while waving her hand.

They both stand up yet remain near the sitting area.

"Thank you for everything. You and Mona have been nothing but helpful and I'm so grateful," Alison says.

"Don't go all soft on me," the other girl smirks. "But you're welcome. We'll always be here."

The two girls hug slightly before walking back towards room 203, CeCe's arm wrapped around Alison's shoulders as they intentionally bump into each other repeatedly. Once they reach the room, they find Mona sitting on Emily's bed, battling one another in an intense game of online connect four. Before either CeCe or Alison can interrupt, Emily groans as Mona claps.

"How do you keep doing that?" Emily stresses as Mona takes her phone back.

"I'll be honest," Mona bites her lip. "No offense but you suck at connect four."

Emily's mouth opens but nothing comes out as both girls near the door try to contain their laughter but fail. The bruised girl shoots a look at her girlfriend who's finally stopped laughing, now biting her bottom lip and looking around the room.

"Where were you?" Emily asks the two blondes.

"Nosey, nosey, Emily," CeCe sings as she walks over to Mona. "We should get going if you plan on making it to work on time."

Mona groans in response, earning a look from CeCe.

"If you lose our little beach vacation because your lazy ass doesn't get into work on time, I'm putting you in a box and shipping you far, far away."

"I'd survive," Mona shrugs and continues when CeCe raises an eyebrow. " _Please_. I know how to make a radio out of a coconut."

Both CeCe and Alison now nod in agreement; they've seen Mona work with some odd things a multitude of times and, quite frankly, it sometimes makes them nervous. The bright side, however, is that, if you're close with Mona, then you realize that she's likely to be your most powerful weapon in any type of situation.

"You two will be leaving soon, right?" the taller blonde directs the question at Emily and Alison.

" _Yes,_ thank God," Emily groans. "We're just waiting to be discharged which could be anytime, but it probably won't be within the next hour or two. Sadly," she rolls her eyes.

"Have fun, lovelies," Mona sings as she grabs her bag and strides out of the room, elegant sunglasses covering her eyes.

"Have fun, indeed," CeCe bounces her eyebrows at Alison as she walks towards the doorway. "I'll message you soon, babe," she says before walking out and following Mona towards the elevator.

Emily reaches out and pouts, making a childish grabbing motion in Alison's direction.

"Ew," Alison laughs from across the room, causing Emily to pout harder with furrowed eyebrows.

"Use your words," the blonde speaks lightly and bats her eyelashes.

"Come here, _please_ ," Emily continues to pout.

The other girl saunders over towards the bed, leaning down and brushing her lips against Emily's without kissing her just yet. She knows that the brunette can't exactly move quickly with her side, so she continues to tease before the other girl grunts in displeasure.

CeCe's words float around in Alison's head and she gets a bit frustrated. Honestly, she hadn't realized how flustered she had been until CeCe decided (ever so gracefully) to point out how slow things have gone — at least for Alison. She was never one to jump into bed with anyone (even before Elliott), and she always tried to drag things on for as long as possible, however, for some reason, she's anxious yet nervous to sleep with Emily. She had never officially been with a girl before, not to say she's never wanted to, and she's nervous that she'll fuck it up. In the end, Alison assumes that CeCe's words are only affecting her this much because she finally notices how long it's been since she's had sex; when she was with Elliott, it was near constant and sometimes it became a bit sickening, however she grew used to the pattern they had fallen into before things went _completely_ down the drain. Alison internally shudders at the thought of Elliott touching her.

"Where'd you go?" the brunette whispers against Alison's lips.

"I'm right here," the other girl smiles as she presses a long, heated kiss to Emily's mouth before she sits on the bed next to her.

Emily remains dazed from the kiss, her eyes fluttering open to see the blonde sitting next to her, biting her lip with a slight smirk. Alison's eyes flicker from Emily's, down to her lips and back. Both girls sit in silence until Alison grabs Emily's hand and plays with her fingers.

"How was the visit with your parents?" she asks Emily.

"Um," she looks around, "it was okay, I guess. Took me by surprise, that's for sure."

"You don't sound all that happy," Alison notes as she tilts her head, asking for more answers.

"It's complicated, to say the least."

" _Hmm_ ," Alison hums. "I have a question."

"This can't be good," Emily squints her eyes.

"No," the other girl laughs, "I promise it isn't bad."

"Okay, go."

"Are they the reason why you don't have more tattoos?"

"That's your question?" Emily raises an eyebrow with an amused expression.

"It's been bugging me since I left the room before!" she raises her voice a bit.

The brunette laughs and sits up a bit more.

"Only partly," she states. "I had originally told them that I wouldn't get any big pieces but that was when I first got my ' _Hannily_ ' tattoo. Once I became an artist, Mom tried to tell me that I'm not getting any more pieces on my own skin and I just ignored it," the girl explains. "As I got deeper into my apprenticeship, I wanted another, so I got the upside down triangle. A few months later, I went a little bigger and had Brixton tattoo the dragonfly on the back of my neck which, by the way, _ouch_ ," she laughs.

"Was it that bad?" Alison smiles at the other girl's expression.

"Ugh, it was probably the worst one because the back of my neck is insanely sensitive, not that getting a tattoo there helped the sensitivity," Emily mumbles the last part.

Alison raises her eyebrows and bites her lip, Emily not noticing as she starts to play with the other girl's hand.

"Actually, it might be tied for the most painful one. Partially, at least," she thinks out loud.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a lot of thick linework and a completely black-colored section on my back-shoulder tattoo and that didn't feel very good. Anti had to go over a few already-inked spots so my skin was already stinging and, well, not a good feeling," Emily explains.

"You know, I've only seen part of one of your tattoos…" Alison smirks and leans forward to kiss the other girl. "When do I get to see the rest?"

" _Mm_ ," Emily returns the kiss. "We'll see," she teases before sitting back against the pillows.

"So, I made a mistake…" Alison looks down at the bed after a moment passes, "with my finances. I miscalculated and, well, I need to find a way to make some more money for my monthly bills."

"I can give you some money, Ali," Emily is quick to respond.

"Thanks, Em, but I wouldn't ask that of you," she smiles. "I was thinking that… maybe you'd like to move in."

Emily opens her mouth and then closes it, lost in thought for a few moments before responding.

"I'd love to, Ali, but what about Hanna? I don't want to leave her all alone," Emily bites the inside of her cheek. "And don't think that means no, okay? Can you give me some time to figure something out?"

"Of course," Alison speaks softly. "Don't feel obligated to take the offer, babe. I just wanted to ask."

"Thanks for the invite," Emily says before successfully sitting up with little pain, pulling the other girl into another kiss.

"Get a room," comes Hanna's voice as she walks through the doorway with Caleb following (who Emily has only seen in pictures).

"Technically, this is my room right now," Emily sasses. "Unfortunately," she adds with a scowl.

"Stop being so grumpy. They're just taking care of you," Hanna gently scolds.

"No, I'm only here because they won't discharge me."

"Suck it up."

Emily rolls her eyes and Alison chuckles as she watches the two bicker. Caleb walks further into the room when Hanna tugs on his arm, eager to introduce him to Emily.

"Em, this is Caleb," she smiles proudly. "Caleb, this is Em."

"It's nice to meet you, finally. I've heard a lot about you," he speaks politely and Emily smiles before returning the comment.

"All good things, Em. Don't you worry," Hanna flashes her signature cheesy smile.

" _Mhm_ ," Emily rolls her eyes. "Are you two staying or…" she asks when they don't bother to sit down.

"Oh, no," Hanna shakes her head. "We're actually going to a barbeque after this—"

"Lucky you," Emily cuts her off with a grunt as she flops back onto the pillows, regretting it once her side begins to hurt again. "Damn it."

"Well stop being dramatic then," Alison helps the brunette back into a comfortable position.

"Listen to your girlfriend, Emily," Hanna raises her eyebrows.

Caleb chuckles next to Hanna, "You're one to talk, babe."

Emily shoots Hanna a devious smile, "Looks like an even playing field now."

Hanna turns towards Caleb who just scratches his head and looks away, still chuckling.

"So, what were you saying?" the brunette directs the question to Hanna, gaining her attention once again.

"Oh, yeah," she starts. "We stopped by because I wanted to talk to you about something in person."

" _Hmm_?" Emily hums so Hanna will continue.

"Caleb asked me to move in with him," she says in a happy-yet-nervous tone.

"Oh," the brunette is slightly stunned by the sudden coincidence while Alison laughs a bit and looks at Emily's expression.

"That's it?" Hanna's expression falls a bit.

"Sorry, sorry," Emily apologizes with a smile. "That's great, Han. Both of you, actually. Go for it."

"Really?" Hanna smiles wide and almost claps. She hugs Caleb's side and he nods a "thank you" in Emily's direction. "No, do you really mean it?"

"Yes, Han," she rolls her eyes. "Actually…" she looks towards Alison and smiles while taking the girl's hand once again, "Alison asked me to move in right before you _barged_ in."

"Well, what did you say?" Hanna narrows her eyes playfully.

"She told me that she didn't want to leave you all alone," Alison teases Emily half-heartedly.

"Aw, Em, that's so sweet," Hanna gushes before hardening her expression, "but you're dumb."

" _What?_ " Emily breathes out in slight disbelief and Alison giggles.

"Don't pass up the invitation because of me. We would have figured something out," Hanna explains.

"But now we don't have to figure something out," Emily responds.

"Mhm," Hanna smiles, "but you're still dumb for it."

The other girl narrows her eyes and Caleb bumps Hanna's shoulder, causing her to give him a look.

"I'm sure you'll have more fun rooming with Ali anyway," Hanna smirks when Emily blushes hard and Alison catches it. "We should get going. The barbeque started forty minutes ago and we made this special stop just for you."

"I'm honored," Emily rolls her eyes sarcastically. "Thanks for visiting though," she directs to the both of them. "And thanks for letting me know in person. I guess we'll have to work something out for moving times…"

"Definitely," Hanna nods her head, "and I get you for a few days. All to myself," she shoots Alison a look.

" _Fine_ ," the brunette sighs.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse us," she loops her arm with Caleb's and begins to pull him towards the hallway.

"Caleb," Emily calls before they're out of the room. When he turns around, she slightly warns, "I'm not always this bedridden so don't break her heart," earning a small slap on the hand from Alison.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he nods before Hanna yanks him into the hallway.

"How ironic," Emily mumbles once her and Alison are alone again. "I like this irony," she smiles before leaning in and kissing the other girl.

As they stay within close proximity, Emily hears Alicia from just outside the door.

"Miss Fields," she sings as she peeks into the room. "You're going home. Let's go."

" _Finally_ ," her eyes widen as Alison gets up and gathers everything.

She moves her legs to the side of the bed and slowly stands, wincing as her body adjusts to the new position. Emily had walked around the second floor a few times during the morning, however never for long since the pain wouldn't allow it. The ache isn't terrible, but it's definitely there and pretty damn noticeable. Emily guesses that, when she was hit, the car's front bumper drove into her side, causing her to fall onto the pavement half on her back, half on her side. Truly, she wasn't sure since the event became fuzzy once she smacked her head on the ground which, currently, is thumping a bit.

"Are you okay?" Alison whispers as she moves next to Emily in case she can't walk correctly.

"Just a little sore," the brunette responds as she straightens up and her back cracks.

Alison makes a face and Emily giggles as she mumbles, "Sorry."

Once everything is gathered, the two make their way towards the nurse's station to make sure everything's in order. Afterwards, they finally get into the elevator and travel to the first floor, Emily trying to leave as fast as she can; she can't wait to lounge around all weekend (since Brixton is perfectly okay with letting Emily stay home tomorrow), hopefully with Alison by her side. In the back of Emily's mind, however, her nerves are sparking when she thinks of her eventual move into Alison's house. She's excited to see what the change will bring for them, together, but also pretty nervous about it. It's expected, she thinks, to be nervous about it — especially because she's been with Hanna constantly for a good chunk of her life.

That's another thing: Emily knows she's going to miss hearing Hanna's obnoxious voice travel through the walls at ungodly hours of the night and, honestly, even the way she forgets to put the cap back onto the toothpaste. Really, she's not even sure where Caleb's place is exactly and that also makes her nervous. _"You'll figure it out,"_ her mind provides some comfort. _"You have Alison to help you."_

As they slide into one of the taxis that belong to the hospital, Emily leans on Alison's shoulder in the backseat. In return, the blonde tilts her body a bit so the other girl can get more comfortable without bumping her head too hard along the way back to Emily's apartment.

"Thank you for staying with me," Emily whispers as she snuggles up to the other girl.

"You're welcome, baby," Alison turns to kiss the top of Emily's head before enjoying the rest of the taxi ride.

* * *

 **So… Emily's parents. Is their overall relationship what you were expecting or not? Emily's relationship with her mother is much different from her relationship with her father, because Wayne's actually pretty open when it comes to trying to understand things whereas Pam is like #nope. They'll be back eventually (much later on in the story), and we'll dive deeper into their relationship and how it's affected Emily throughout the years.**

 **Who's looking forward to the beach trip? I am! It'll take place over the course of Ch's 11-14 (and a little bit of 15). Small spoiler: Writing dialogue for 8+ people is pretty… interesting… to say the least. It's even more "interesting" when those 8+ characters are playing wiffle ball on the beach.**

 **CeCe, CeCe… so invasive, yet so necessary (*insert fire emoji*) — Prepare yourselves for the next chapter… that's all I can say.**

 **And how about that irony towards the end? I, personally, was torn when it came to deciding whether or not to make Hannily permanently (well, story-wise) live together, or have Emily live with Alison. In the end, quite a few nice storylines are going to come out of this move, and it'll be pretty emotional when we get there… AKA Ch 9; AKA next week. Are you angry that I'm splitting Hannily up living-wise? Happy? Torn?**

 **Ask me more questions. Send me messages. Follow me on here and/or Tumblr. Be nice to people. Tell your pets I said hi. Whatever.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Welcome back!**

 **I've been nodding my head at your reactions regarding Emily's relationship with her parents; ya'll have been spot on, really, and most of us feel the same about the situation.**

 **For those who are, indeed, hoping that Hanna remains a big part of this story… you're in luck because she's in most chapters. For those of you who aren't the biggest fans of Hanna or her relationship with Emily… I hope I can change that by the end of this story — if not, that's fine too.**

 **I am beyond thrilled to post the beach chapters. Over the course of those four main chapters, I wrote in a few songs with road-trip-like and beachy vibes, just because I had a nice little playlist going, so… maybe it'll help you picture some things.**

 **Alright, this one is very… inevitable, I'd say. Let's go.**

* * *

Emily looks around her apartment's main living space. There are boxes strewn across the floor, some broken though most are successfully taped shut. The various, small decor pieces that had once adorned shelves and tables are now packed, making the room look even more empty. The decent-sized TV is put away in its original packaging, Emily offering it to Hanna since her and Alison won't exactly have room for it anyway. Their small, round kitchen table is folded along the seams and pressed against the wall, waiting for the movers to take it away once they finally arrive. Really, the only things left in the main living space are the bigger, wooden objects, couches, chairs, and the many, _many_ boxes.

A day after Emily had left the hospital, her and Hanna had called their space's landlord, explaining that they'll be moving out. They were surprised when the older man wished them luck in life since they haven't ever really spoken to him aside from when they were paying rent. During the call, they asked if there was a certain time they had to stay in the place until and he had, also surprisingly, said that they can leave whenever, causing them to both pipe up and inform him that they'd start packing right away, meaning they'd be out before their rent was up.

Six days later and they're nearly finished moving out — _already_. It went by quickly even though she still had to be careful because of the concussion, especially when they began packing. Much to their luck, their apartment was never very cluttered — just the right amount of decor and furniture, really. Before anything else, however, both Hanna and Emily had started sorting their personal things. A large chunk of time passed while they both yelled from room to room, clearly enjoying their final days living together.

" _Han, did you steal my grey and blue flannel?"_ Emily shouted at one point as she stood facing her closet, hands on her hips.

" _Maybe,"_ she heard Hanna drone after a minute of silence.

Next, they worked at sorting through their joint belongings such as the decor in the living room and the bigger objects. The majority ("majority" meaning ninety-eight percent) of things ended up in Hanna's possession since most decor pieces weren't exactly Emily's taste; _"I'm decorating our place, Em. No offense, but I'm more colorful,"_ Hanna had criticized as she unlocked their apartment door for the first time. Emily didn't mind it — in fact, she enjoyed watching Hanna push around a cart in Target, picking the most random things off of the shelves and tossing them into the large basket.

" _Hanna, are you really paying twenty-five dollars for a fake plant?"_

" _Yes, we are."_

" _We?"_

In addition to packing for their move, they've both been sorting clothes and essentials into separate boxes for their Cape Cod vacation; Hanna had been so excited when she heard that Mona invited her to come — she's even planning on having Caleb visit for a night or two. Initially, she had invited him to come for the entire four-day-long trip, however he's been swamped with _"Some kind of geeky work,"_ as Hanna put it. At one point, Hanna had confused her vacation box with one of the moving boxes, causing her to empty both and start over with her sorting routine.

" _Seriously? We just packed that one,"_ Emily had groaned.

" _Well now I'm unpacking it."_

As Emily looks around the room, she thinks about what she's leaving behind and what she's gaining. Ever since the taxi ride home from the hospital, her mind has been battling itself, one side arguing that she's so comfortable here and the other side trying to convince Emily into taking this big step. There was a point sometime during the day after she had gotten home that she was thinking of changing her mind and telling Alison that she has to think things through some more. It only lasted for a few minutes, however, because she took a deep breath and talked herself back into it and, well, let's just say that Alison's become quite convincing within the last few days.

The brunette pulls out her phone to check the time: 6:57 P.M. She waits patiently for Alison and Caleb to return with the pizza that they had ordered while Hanna continues to fumble around in her room. Around six o'clock, Hanna had wandered into the kitchen space, groaning when she remembered that they only had simple snacks left in the house and asking the rest of the group if they'd like to order something to eat. Of course, everyone agreed to ordering a pizza so they could finally finish up packing for the night since the movers are arriving sometime tomorrow to wrap up the job. So, once the order was placed, Caleb offered to drive for the pizza (since he actually has a car) and Alison proposed the idea of tagging along to which Caleb nodded his head and smiled. Both Hanna and Emily watched the exchange, happy that the other two were seemingly getting along well.

She hears a knock on the door behind her, accompanied by two muffled voices coming through the solid wood.

"Who is it?" she sings.

"Room service," Caleb answers back sarcastically.

"Emily, let them in already. I'm starving," comes Hanna's dramatic reply as she waltzes into the living room.

The brunette rolls her eyes before opening the door to reveal Caleb carrying a large pizza box and a liter of soda, Alison following close behind with nothing but a small purse in her hands. Emily's eyes roam her girlfriend's figure as she walks by; Alison had arrived in an attractive yet comfortable looking outfit consisting of a dressy, flowy, black tank top paired with simple, dark blue skinny jeans and flip flops. Her hair is a tad less wavy today than usual and, honestly, Emily _really_ likes it.

"Your girlfriend didn't feel like carrying anything," Caleb stressfully says as he puts the pizza box and soda bottle onto the countertop.

" _Yeah_ ," Emily drawls as Alison kisses her on the cheek, "I should have warned you about that."

Alison takes her small purse and smacks Emily's backside with it while Hanna rushes over towards the pizza.

" _Please_ ," Hanna whines. "Do you really think we're keeping the pizza all the way on the counter while I sit over there on the floor?" she deadpans while pointing towards the center of the room. "It's coming with me," the blonde says as she takes the box and moves over to an empty space on the floor, placing it in front of her and sitting cross-legged while immediately taking a piece and eating it.

"I've learned that she's really graceful," Caleb chuckles at his girlfriend while Emily watches her with furrowed eyebrows.

"One of a kind, really," the brunette replies as Alison is the first to follow Hanna, sitting down on the opposite side of the other blonde and stealing a slice of food.

Eventually, Emily and Caleb walk over with a stack of paper plates and sit around the box of pizza as well, bare space and full boxes surrounding them as they enjoy their dinner. Hanna and Emily share stories with the other two, mostly revolving around Hanna doing something bizarre and the aftermath that Emily had to deal with. As the minutes progressed, Alison and Caleb began to share some of their own stories when it came to their best friends and/or funny memories. It made the night easier for the two best friends that were, sadly, moving apart from each other and, although they haven't addressed it out loud just yet, it's going to change a lot.

After eating, the group cleans and washes up before returning to their labor prior to ordering the food. As Hanna and Caleb place specific boxes in different corners of the room to sort through their own things, Emily walks into her room and looks around: even more boxes are stacked against the wall, her closet is almost completely empty (most of her clothes being piled up at Alison's already), and her bed's mattress is completely bare. She moves further into the room in order to work on her closet some more, standing in front of the open doors and sliding some unused hangers across the metal rod.

Before Emily can progress any further, she feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind as Alison tightly pushes her body up against the brunette's back.

"Are you going to help me finish packing?" Emily questions with a slight smile as she tries to continue organizing.

"Probably not," the blonde whispers against the side of Emily's neck which, ultimately, slows down the brunette's progress tremendously.

When Emily attempts to go through her remaining clothes again while moving a few steps further into the compact closet, Alison moves some of the girl's long hair to rest on her right shoulder before pressing her lips to the back of Emily's neck. The brunette's movements halt as Alison places soft yet deliberate kisses across the dragonfly tattoo, starting from the bottom of the piece towards the top and drifting off to its left wing.

Emily moans slightly at the sudden warmth and pressure on her neck, not realizing that Alison's pushed her further into the small space. Turning around once Alison stops torturing her skin, Emily gently cups the other girl's jaw and moves closer to kiss her hard. In response, Alison maneuvers Emily's hands away from her face and slowly guides them down her sides, towards her back. The blonde tugs on the other girl's bottom lip as she moves her hands along Emily's arms. Eventually, she drapes her arms over her girlfriend's shoulders and tangles her hands in the girl's hair, pulling their bodies impossibly closer to one another. Emily's hands drift further down Alison's back, lightly dragging her nails across the fabric of the blonde's shirt.

A small whimper escapes Alison's throat as she kisses the other girl more, slipping her tongue against Emily's while pressing her against the closet wall. She partially and unintentionally straddles one of the brunette's legs as they get lost in each other's lips, the new position being noticed by Emily who decides to take advantage. Suddenly, she shifts her leg a bit so it's at an angle, immediately getting a breathy moan from the other girl.

" _Hmm?_ " Emily stops kissing Alison and smirks, slightly pretending that the movement wasn't intentional.

"You did that purposely," the blonde accuses in a shaky whisper.

"Did what?" she teases.

"Shh," Alison shushes before kissing Emily again.

When their lips meet again, Emily moves her leg up a bit more to create more pressure against Alison's core, earning another, deeper moan as the blonde tries to refrain from moving her hips.

"Emily," Alison breathes out, though it sounds more flustered than anything. "You can't do that," she groans.

Emily hums in response.

"Fine then," she whispers as she pushes her girlfriend back a few steps before walking out of the closet, eventually followed by a very frustrated Alison who attempts to fix her shirt and hair before moving any further.

"Coming out of the closet for the second time, I see," Hanna chuckles at her own pun as she walks into the room, seemingly (but not really) oblivious to what had just transpired inside that very closet.

"Wow," she continues as she looks around Emily's bedroom, "I've never seen this room so empty."

"And I've never seen yours so clean," the brunette smirks as Hanna shoots her a look.

"That's because it's also empty," she points out the obvious and Alison smiles sadly; she can tell that the reality of them moving apart is finally hitting Hanna and, although Alison's extremely excited to have her girlfriend all to herself (and in her bed every night), she's also feeling slightly guilty for pulling them apart. Granted, it definitely wasn't her fault alone since Caleb had technically asked Hanna to move in with him before Alison asked Emily, but she still feels bad that these two best friends will be apart for the first time in years. On the bright side, however, Caleb's place isn't too far from Alison's and the two couples have already planned various double dates — mostly courtesy of Hanna's imagination. And it's not like they can't visit each other whenever they please so, really, it'll become easier over time; the initial departure is the worst part.

"So," Hanna clears her throat. "Caleb and I were going to head out since everything's really packed and ready to be moved."

"Okay," Emily nods her head slightly while speaking quietly.

Hanna crosses her arms gently and backs out of Emily's room, the brunette shuffling her feet to follow and Alison placing a soft hand on her girlfriend's lower back to provide some sort of comfort. Hanna stops walking when she's standing next to Caleb, his arm now around her shoulders. Alison rubs small circles along Emily's back, making sure everything's okay; she's learned to understand the other girl's body language when she's becoming upset about something and, right now, she can tell that her mood has changed.

"I guess this is it," Emily is first to break the silence and Hanna's eyes are already watering.

Alison nudges Emily slightly, basically pushing her to give her best friend a hug which, thanks to Hanna's lunging, happens not even a second later.

"I'm going to miss you and your unbearable early-bird routine so much," Hanna cries into Emily's neck as the brunette tightens the hug and lets a few tears fall as well.

"It's not like we'll be far apart, Han," she comforts, though she's slightly trembling. "You and I both know that you'll be trying to FaceTime me day and night…" Hanna chuckles at her best friend's statement as tears continue to fall. "And I've never been more happy to answer," she says before she lets go.

Hanna backs up, instantly being wrapped in her boyfriend's arms. He presses a kiss to her temple as she wipes at her face a few times and then sniffles. Alison moves forward and intertwines her fingers with Emily's, leaning her head on the other girl's shoulder with her other hand holding onto Emily's forearm. Silence takes over for a few more seconds as Hanna and Caleb get ready to leave.

"Love you," Hanna swallows hard and forces a smile, which Emily matches with her own forced smile, though it's only because of the weight of the situation; she's always hated goodbye's.

"Love you too, Miss Marin," she tries to lighten the mood and everyone smiles. "Take care of her, Caleb."

He nods and offers her a respectful smile, "Count on it."

Caleb guides Hanna to the door and opens it for her. She looks back and blows Emily an exaggerated kiss before stepping out into the hallway with her boyfriend. The door shuts afterwards and Emily lowers her head a bit as she plays with Alison's fingers. She stays like that and lets a few more tears fall before wiping them with the back of her hand and taking a deep breath.

"Are you okay, baby?" Alison whispers as she moves to stand in front of her girlfriend.

Emily smiles sadly, "I will be. Don't worry."

The blonde smiles back in understanding and slowly wraps her arms around the other girl's waist, burying her face into Emily's neck. They remain hugging as time passes and the brunette gathers herself, her breathing a bit shaky. When Emily finally pulls away, she speaks softly but happily — as happy as she can be, actually.

"Are you ready to go home?"

"Are _you_?" Alison counters as she kisses the corner of Emily's lips.

"I think I am," she smiles.

"You _think_ you are? I guess we'll have to stay here until you're sure," Alison teases as she dramatically twirls around the almost-empty space.

Emily moves quickly and catches the other girl, hugging her tightly and rocking her back and forth before backing up and kissing her. They get lost in the kiss as it becomes more physical, Alison wrapping her arms around Emily's neck and leaning further into her. The brunette's hands roam the other girl's body and drift under the fabric of her dressy tank top, her nails grazing Alison's skin as she moans softly at the feeling. In return, Alison's nails slightly dig into the back of Emily's neck (half intentionally, half not), causing the brunette to moan into her girlfriend's mouth before putting a few inches between their lips.

"Okay," she breathes out, "let's go home."

Emily pulls away (albeit reluctantly) and walks back to her room while Alison calls for a taxi, taking another look at the space before flipping the lightswitch and closing the door slightly. She turns around and makes her way towards the main door, shutting off the living room's lights as the other girl opens the door. Once again, she sighs and takes a good look at the empty space, only occupied by stacks of boxes; these walls hold many, _many_ memories for both Hanna and Emily. Maybe they weren't _huge_ memories but there were definitely moments that she's very fond of. Getting her beloved job, for instance, and Hanna's many exciting stories about the internship that she landed quite quickly.

There were even tougher moments dealt with in this space. One memory that often comes to Emily's mind is when Hanna had her heart broken by someone that she had been with off-and-on for a while. One night, he became loud and nearly violent just as Emily arrived home from work. Once she saw him take one dangerous step towards Hanna, she automatically walked in front of him and shoved his shoulder backwards, reminding him that the blonde deserved much more than what he was dishing out. With that, he walked out, slammed the door, and Emily held a crying Hanna for what felt like the next five days.

Hanna had also comforted Emily on various occasions, especially when she had been arguing with her parents about her newly chosen profession; _"I know they love you, Em. They just don't understand that you're passionate about this, and maybe it's because they've never been passionate about anything, themselves."_ Afterwards, the blonde had mumbled that she'd be right back, walking out of the apartment and re-entering again fifteen minutes later, two containers of ice cream in hand — one of her favorites and one of Emily's.

She'll miss this place, certainly, and maybe the move will be hard at first, but she knows that Alison will help her get through it and, just maybe, the change will be far better than she can even imagine right now. Emily lets out a shaky breath and crosses her arms as she hugs herself, Alison watching from the doorway and allowing her girlfriend to have some space.

The brunette turns to Alison and smiles sadly before walking by her and making her way down the hallway as the blonde follows. Alison catches up and loops their arms as they make their way down the stairs and out the complex's door. A taxi waits next to the curb just a few feet from the door and Emily opens the door for Alison who slides into the seat, Emily sliding in afterwards.

The brunette checks the time and sees that it's already 9:08 P.M. She leans her head back and Alison drags her nails along Emily's inner forearm as it rests on the seat between them. The blonde stares out the vehicle's front window as they navigate through the partially-crowded streets; Friday nights bring bigger crowds, especially during the second half of May, flowing into summertime.

Emily's skin begins to tingle as Alison continues drawing patterns on her forearm, wrist, and palm. She looks towards the other girl and smiles when she looks back, then she places her hand a fraction above Alison's knee, causing the blonde to quirk her eyebrow. She moves her hand upwards a bit more before Alison shoots her a look, causing her to draw her hand back as she giggles softly.

Suddenly, Emily's phone begins to ring with a FaceTime call from Hanna. She picks up as she rolls her eyes while laughing slightly. Alison smiles when she sees Hanna's name on the screen but turns towards her window.

"Already, Han?"

"It's never too soon to miss you and, really, I miss you already," she frowns into the screen and Emily mimics her.

"I miss you too," Emily bites her inner cheek. "Did you get settled in yet?"

"No, we just got in," Hanna says as Caleb groans in the background.

"And she's already on the couch," he says, causing Hanna to flash him a smile.

" _Fine_ ," the blonde behind the screen groans, "I guess I'll go and help unpack a few things."

"Have fun, Hanna, and have a nice night, okay? Call me tomorrow sometime."

"Definitely," Hanna responds, "and you two have a nice night as well," her eyebrows bounce exaggeratedly as Emily bites her lip before exiting the call.

Meanwhile, Alison's thoughts keep drifting back towards what happened in the closet not even an hour beforehand. Though she's focusing on comforting Emily (in much more subtle ways), she can't help but be frustrated after the other girl had left her in the closet not even a split second after shifting her leg in just the precise way. Emily did it intentionally and Alison knows it, however she never predicted the brunette just walking out like it didn't frustrate her as well. Honestly, it was much more than Alison expected, not that she pictured Emily to go with anything, anywhere, but because she didn't think that the other girl could play it off like her lips weren't all over Alison's seconds prior to Hanna walking in. It's new to Alison; the fact that Emily seems to have such solid control over her libido and, really, Alison doesn't — not with Emily, at least.

With Elliott, it was much different. Alison didn't exactly feel the need to have sex with him, but, unfortunately, she never really shoved him away — it was an outlet of sorts. He'd try his best to seduce her and, although it didn't work ninety percent of the time, she'd go along with it for the sake of getting off quickly and keeping his grabbiness at bay.

" _I can't believe you enjoy sleeping with that egotistical—"_ CeCe had started.

" _I don't enjoy it, but it helps relieve stress, I suppose,"_ Alison cut her off with a shrug.

The vehicle stops in front of the familiar brick building; home — _their_ home. Alison had been so lost in her thoughts that she gradually stopped paying attention to their location. Emily hands the driver some money before scooting out of the taxi, holding the door for Alison as she follows. The cab drives off as Alison smirks and gives Emily a quick peck on her lips before turning around and walking up the steps. The brunette follows, ascending the steps slowly as she waits for Alison to unlock the door. Finally, the blonde pushes the solid door open but remains standing next to Emily.

"Shouldn't you be carrying me across the threshold?" Alison looks at her girlfriend with narrowed eyes.

"I don't think that rule applies when I'm the one moving in," Emily smirks, earning a grunt from Alison as she steps onto the hardwood of the hallway.

The blonde flicks the hallway chandelier on as she drops her small bag onto the table against the staircase.

"I'll be right back," Alison says as she walks into the bathroom.

Emily smiles at her girlfriend and walks through the hallway, turning into the living room and looking around. Strangely, the space seems different now that it's her new home. Before tonight, it was her girlfriend's house and, now, it's also her house. She likes the feeling, actually, and it takes her by surprise because, if Emily's being honest, she isn't fond of change — especially when it comes to her lifestyle.

She hears Alison leave the bathroom and walk back towards the small table in the hallway. The blonde begins to sort through a few things with her back facing Emily, so the brunette walks into the hallway, wrapping her arms around Alison and resting her cheek against the other girl's shoulder. She stays still for a moment, taking in the fresh smell of Alison's perfume and shyly smiling, though the other girl can't see.

"I just want to thank you for helping out today," Emily says as she lifts her head. "Not just with the packing but… everything, really. Especially when Hanna was leaving. It got pretty heavy."

Alison turns around while staying in Emily's embrace, backing into the table a bit as she looks into her girlfriend's eyes.

"You're welcome. I know how much she means to you and, honestly, I admire it," she speaks genuinely. "But, now, I've got a gift for you. A welcome home gift, kind of," Alison smiles as she smoothly grabs something off of the table behind her.

Emily eyes her carefully, tilting her head a bit. She waits and looks down when Alison holds out her hand, displaying a shiny, silver key hanging off of a dark brown piece of leather with an "E" burned into one of the sides. She smiles at both the object and the sentiment of the gift, taking it into her own hand and tracing the letter with her thumb.

"I figured it fit the occasion," Alison speaks softly. "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful, really. Thank you," she says as she continues to admire the keychain.

"And, well, now you can stop stealing mine," the blonde smirks when Emily looks up and blushes.

"Thank you, again," Emily places her new key next to Alison's bag on the table, afterwards bringing her hand to her girlfriend's waist and leaning in to give her a gentle kiss.

"Mm," Alison hums into the kiss. "The first official night of sleeping in your new home."

They kiss again and Emily smiles against Alison's mouth.

"How exciting," the brunette says between kisses.

"Very," Alison whispers as Emily pushes her further against the small table.

Alison's hands roam up Emily's arms as the kiss grows deeper and more heated. She ends up cupping her girlfriend's face as she deepens the kiss even further, whimpering when she feels Emily press her body flush against her own, the brunette's leg ending up in the same spot as before which, in turn, heightens Alison's frustration immensely. To turn the tables, Alison tugs on the other girl's lip before kissing down her jawline, drifting further down her neck as she traces her thumb along Emily's other cheek, causing her to moan when Alison begins to nip at her skin and drag her tongue across the same area.

Emily swallows hard as her girlfriend continues, her hands drifting further down and sliding into Alison's back pockets before dragging her nails up and under the girl's tank top. They both begin to breathe heavily as the atmosphere in the room thickens severely. After placing a few more open-mouthed kisses around Emily's pulse point (which, due to the reaction, is Alison's new favorite spot to tantalize), the blonde slides her hands down her own back to grab Emily's hands, slightly intertwining their fingers as she speaks in a now-raspy voice.

"I'm going to get changed," her eyes flicker back to Emily's lips for a split second. "Are you coming?"

In response, the other girl nods, though her eyes can barely focus on anywhere other than her girlfriend's mouth.

Alison slides away from the table and rounds the end of the banister, flipping off the chandelier's switch as she passes, and climbing up the stairs as she holds onto Emily's hand. Due to the heated tension between them, to both girls, the staircase seems longer than usual. As they continue to make their way towards Alison's open bedroom, anticipation bubbles in both of their stomachs, each girl pretty nervous but neither of them allowing the nerves to show. Once they ( _finally_ ) make it onto the landing, Alison turns to the left but walks straight, opening her closet door and standing next to it as she turns to face Emily.

"What?" Emily asks in a confused tone as she peeks into the small room.

"Look," Alison gestures towards the far side of the closet.

Emily walks into the space and, soon, a dresser with drawers comes into view after passing a bundle of Alison's hanging clothes. Alison takes a step in Emily's direction, waiting for a reaction.

"What am I looking at?" Emily turns around with furrowed eyebrows which Alison giggles at.

"The dresser. It's for your clothes," she responds while she continues to giggle.

The brunette breathes out a long " _ohh_ " before laughing at herself.

"Did you really think I wouldn't give you a place to keep your clothes?"

"I figured you wouldn't have much space to spare with your _extravagant_ style," Emily teases.

"Em," Alison says abruptly. "I wear t-shirts and jeans on most days and you know that."

"Who says that's not _extravagant_?"

"Why do you keep saying it like that?" Alison chuckles.

"It makes me feel good," the brunette shrugs.

"I can make you feel better," her girlfriend counters as she flashes a smirk, causing Emily's mouth to open slightly.

Alison smiles when she renders Emily speechless with something so simple.

"Change into something more comfortable," the blonde instructs before adding, "I'm not letting you into bed until those jeans are off."

Emily rolls her eyes as Alison shuts the closet door, laughing when she hears Emily yell out "Hey," due to there being no light switch inside the room. After a second or two, Alison uses the wall switch to turn the closet's light on, earning a "Thank you" from the girl inside.

Five minutes pass before Emily exits the room wearing a baggy t-shirt and very short pajama shorts, though Alison doesn't notice because she's too busy lost in thought as she looks over the loft's railing.

"Jeans are off," Emily informs sarcastically, causing Alison to chuckle before turning around.

Once she sees her girlfriend's choice of sleepwear, her mouth opens for a second before she clears her throat and attempts to stop herself from staring for too long, though Emily, personally, wouldn't mind. As she stands there, she realizes that this is going to be her first official time with a girl — since, really, she's almost determined to go all the way tonight. Though she had come out as bisexual years upon years prior, Alison kept falling into relationships with boys, eventually leading to her steady relationship with Elliott. During their relationship, however, she found herself looking at more women; she'd slightly check them out before sighing and thinking, _"I wish I had taken the time to get to know a girl or two."_ Regardless, she never ended up following through on that wish, clearly, since she stayed with Elliott for quite some time. Tonight, however she plans on doing this right — with confidence and no hesitation.

Alison smirks internally when she decides on what to change into. She walks towards Emily and brushes her lips against her girlfriend's, however not granting her a kiss.

"I'll be right back," she whispers before walking into the space that Emily had exited a minute prior, her sultry tone stunning Emily who sits down on the end of the mattress.

The brunette wipes her palms on her knees as she sits at the edge of the bed, waiting for her girlfriend to return from changing into her pajamas — or, so she thought until Alison strides out of the closet wearing a lace, burgundy bra and matching lace panties. She walks over, standing in front of Emily but still far out of reach, smirking when the other girl can't seem to speak or even process anything.

"Cat's got your tongue?" the blonde arches an eyebrow at Emily who finally closes her mouth and blinks, lifting her eyes and pretending that she wasn't just staring at Alison's body for longer than thirty seconds.

"I'm sorry," she continues, "is this going to distract you all night?"

Still, no response comes. Alison smirks harder as she moves closer to the other girl who remains seated on the edge of the bed, partially standing between her legs. She bends over slightly and places her hands on Emily's thighs, making sure that she's eye-level with the brunette. Before speaking again, she presses her tongue to the inside of her cheek and lets out a small chuckle.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," she whispers before leaning in closer, brushing her nose against Emily's. "Good."

Alison leans in fully and attaches her lips to Emily's, earning a soft yet satisfied moan from the brunette. On instinct, Emily grabs onto her girlfriend's sides, semi-accidentally pulling Alison into her lap (but not really accidentally), causing her to end up straddling the other girl's thighs. Emily tilts her head upwards in order to continue kissing Alison as her hands drag along the blonde's back, occasionally drifting further downwards. Meanwhile, Alison tangles her hands in Emily's hair as their kisses get ten times deeper. Every now and then, the brunette takes her nails and drags them all the way up Alison's back, causing deep, breathy moans to fall from her lips in between kisses.

Soon, Emily decides that it's her turn to torture Alison, trailing her lips down the side of the blonde's jaw, to the spot slightly behind her ear, and all the way down the side of her neck. She alternates between using her teeth, tongue, and lips, toying with her girlfriend's soft skin as she creates more friction by grasping her ass and forcing the girl to move her hips a bit.

" _Fuck_ ," Alison groans at the movement, though it sounds like more of a growl when Emily firmly nips at a sensitive spot on her neck.

Her moans come quicker as she continues grinding her body down on the other girl's. She digs her nails into the back of Emily's neck while the brunette continues her ministrations, dragging the tip of her tongue from the base of Alison's neck, all the way up to behind her ear. Once Emily draws a sharp breath and a whimper from her girlfriend, she kisses her way back over to Alison's lips, only to get her own bottom lip snagged by the blonde's teeth. In response, she lifts both of their bodies up and walks them over to the pillows while their lips never depart, laying Alison down onto the pillows before climbing on top of her. As Emily straddles the girl now lying beneath her, she pecks her on the lips once, much softer than previously.

"Is this the other part of my welcome home gift?" she whispers with a slight smile as she looks into Alison's eyes.

"Do you want it to be?" the other girl whispers back in a somewhat reserved tone.

After a few seconds of silence, Emily nods her head gently before kissing Alison again, pouring even more passion into the kiss; Alison deserves nothing less tonight (or any night), Emily mentally notes.

"You're so beautiful," the brunette whispers when she pulls away once more, rubbing her thumb along Alison's jawline.

The other girl's eyes flicker back and forth between Emily's eyes and lips before she smiles softly, kissing her continuously until she catches her girlfriend off-guard and flips them over. Alison straddles Emily, who is now beneath her, as she pushes up the brunette's shirt until they mutually assist in fully taking it off. Finally, the blonde can see a bit more of the other girl's back-shoulder tattoo and she smiles when realization hits her that she'll finally see the rest of Emily's artwork. Alison places both of her hands on Emily's chest, squeezing as she leans down towards her girlfriend's lips, again not granting her a kiss. She feels hard bumps underneath her palms, just being barely noticeable through the girl's bra as she remains hovering above her lips. Her small charm necklace dangles between them as she teases the other girl who keeps attempting to crane her neck forward, resulting in Alison pulling further away and smirking.

" _Aww_ ," the blonde coos when Emily grunts, "what's wrong?"

"Stop being a tease."

"Or what?" Alison tilts her head as she leans forward again, taking Emily's bottom lip between her teeth, loving the way her girlfriend reacts with a sharp inhale and a slight gasp.

When Emily doesn't respond and only continues to breathe heavily, Alison sits up straight as she remains straddling the girl beneath her. She places her hands flat against Emily's defined stomach before dragging her fingertips up and down the brunette's ribs, just so she can barely sense pressure, however feel a tingling sensation.

"I think…" Alison takes her own bottom lip into her mouth as she pauses. "I think that you're all talk."

While she speaks, she flips her blonde hair to one side of her neck, cascading over her shoulder as she reaches behind her own back to find the clip to her bra. Once she finds the small piece of metal, she flicks her fingers and hears a quiet snap which, judging by the way her eyes widen, Emily hears too. Alison leaves her bra clinging to her skin, however, not wanting to let it fall just yet as her girlfriend visibly swallows hard and struggles to keep her eyes locked on Alison's.

"See," she continues when Emily's eyes flicker back to her's. "I think you enjoy being teased, Emily."

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she flashes her signature smirk and lets the material slide off of her body before taking Emily's hands and guiding them up her sides, eventually stopping at her breasts. She intertwines her fingers with the brunette's as both of their chests rise and fall quite heavily. Alison's smirk fades as she licks her lips and leans down to kiss Emily again, moaning into her girlfriend's mouth when she intentionally tightens her stomach muscles and shifts upwards, creating a big spike in pressure between the blonde's legs.

"Em," the girl whimpers when she feels the other girl's lips trailing back down her neck, this time ending up at her chest as she re-tangles her hands in Emily's hair.

The brunette begins to work against Alison's chest with her lips as she rubs her right thumb across the girl's nipple, kissing her way across both collar bones and down the girl's sternum before dragging her bottom lip along the same path. While Alison's body reacts to the motion with both goosebumps and sounds of pleasure, Emily also uses her free hand to grasp the blonde's ass in order to make her shift her hips once again. Meanwhile, Alison's left hand grabs a fistful of the pillowcase next to Emily's head while her right hand digs into the brunette's shoulder, slightly making crescent-shaped marks in her tanned skin.

Once Emily finishes attacking her girlfriend's chest, she takes Alison's weak state as an opportunity to flip them over once again in order to straddle only one of her legs. In response, she earns a half-grunt, half-whimper from the girl now lying beneath her. Not wanting to rush things (and, honestly, not wanting to give into Alison), Emily places her left pointer finger on the blonde's lips which earns her fingertip a gentle kiss. Slowly, she starts to drag the finger down Alison's neck, between her breasts, and down her stomach before stopping at the girl's underwear line. Instinctually, Alison's hand flies to her girlfriend's back as she slightly grabs at her skin, waiting. She swallows hard as Emily's hand lingers on her lower stomach for a few seconds, the silence of the room disrupted with the sound of the girls' heavy breathing. When the brunette finally moves her fingers lower, she intentionally keeps her hand over the fabric, only applying a slight bit of pressure — but _definitely_ enough to drive the other girl crazy.

Alison's mouth opens partially as she sucks in a sharp breath while her eyes flicker closed for a second. Emily smirks as her face lingers near her girlfriend's. She watches the girl's facial expression change while her chest rises and falls faster as a result of Emily's hand sometimes pressing harder and sometimes lighter. The brunette leans in slowly and places a few open-mouthed kisses along Alison's jawbone, only to back up and smirk again. Suddenly, she swipes her fingers upwards at a quick pace and it catches her girlfriend off-guard, eliciting a loud, sharp moan as the blonde tilts her head upwards into the pillow and her nails dig into Emily's back. The brunette looks over to see Alison's other hand grasping onto the bedsheets and tugging on them every now and then. She smirks again, swiping upwards once more and earning another bold reaction.

"Do _you_ like being teased, Alison?" Emily whispers after kissing the corner of her girlfriend's lips.

"No," the blonde chokes out before taking a deep breath, attempting to control the situation.

Emily, however, can see Alison attempting to re-gain control, and she moves her hand lower so she can push aside the center piece of fabric which doesn't go unnoticed by her girlfriend; the blonde takes her own lower lip into her mouth before biting down, trying not to let any reactions slip.

"Are you sure?" Emily's voice takes on a partial sing-song tone. "I think it's fun."

As the other girl goes to respond, the brunette uses one finger to slide through Alison's folds, slowly with a good amount of pressure. Whatever the blonde's response was about to be, it automatically gets replaced with a loud gasp as she bites down on her lip again — _hard_.

" _Fuck_ , Emily," she releases her lip as she moans when her girlfriend repeats the same motion two more times.

"Hmm?" the brunette hums with a smile before she kisses Alison's bottom lip.

"Please," the girl beneath practically growls, "stop _stopping_."

Emily raises an eyebrow at the request and lets the fabric fall back into its previous position, her hand gliding back up Alison's body as the blonde's eyebrows furrow at the loss of friction between her legs.

"Emily," she looks at the other girl seriously, "if you don't touch me right now, I'll do it for you."

The other girl tilts her head with a smirk as she narrows her eyes.

"Let's see it then," she dares as she gingerly grabs ahold of Alison's right hand, intertwining their fingers slightly before guiding the blonde's palm down her own body.

Alison swallows hard, definitely not expecting this to be the response to her spur-the-moment threat. She looks down for a beat before closing her eyes as their hands slide down further, eventually passing the garment's elastic. Her mouth falls open when Emily puts pressure on her fingers, causing them to create the best kind of feeling as they get coated in her own need. The brunette continues to move her hand with Alison's, helping her follow through on her "threat." She kisses down the blonde's neck before kissing back up to the girl's lips as louder moans start to tumble from her mouth, also earning a small whimper once she drags the tip of her tongue against Alison's bottom lip.

Once Alison's other hand tangles into Emily's hair and pulls a bit, the brunette figures that it's time to take over fully. Gradually, she lets go of her girlfriend's hand and pushes it away a fraction as she works on her with a steady speed. She rhythmically alternates between slow, heavy strokes and quick, light swipes while also entering the girl every now and then. Rather quickly, Emily notes that she gets louder, more physical reactions when she uses heavy strokes, occasionally stopping to focus on the blonde's clit which, she's realizing, is the girl's ultimate weakness.

Suddenly, Alison brings Emily's lips to her own and they share a very bruising and messy kiss as she tries to quiet down, however this just causes her girlfriend to quicken the pace, alternating between one or two fingers while also rocking her hips which, in turn, helps her push further into Alison.

"Oh my God," the blonde moans into her girlfriend's mouth as she digs her nails into Emily's neck and lower back, her hands roaming the brunette's body constantly as she tries to grab onto everything and anything. Alison's nails scratch up Emily's back, inadvertently undoing the other girl's bra. Emily notices this but doesn't shrug off the garment immediately; she feels Alison's body getting hotter and doesn't want to disrupt anything.

Instead, when she angles her hand a certain, new way, Alison's muscles clench as the pressure builds more and more, her reactions of pleasure becoming louder than any other moment. Emily trails kisses down her jaw, leading to behind her ear before she tugs on it slightly, causing Alison to completely come undone, Emily's name falling from her mouth along with a mix of a few phrases and curse words such as "God," "fuck," and "shit."

Once Alison's orgasm flows all the way through, her thighs tighten around Emily's hand due to the sensitivity. The brunette pulls her fingers out from underneath the fabric and glides her palm along her girlfriend's side and, eventually, up to cup Alison's cheek while she goes back to kissing her lips. Alison slides her tongue into the other girl's mouth as she lets out a leftover whimper, her breathing starting to slow down though her heart still beats quickly. They depart again, noses still touching as Alison's eyes flicker open fully. Emily softly smiles when Alison looks at her before backing up to get a better view of the blonde's flushed face. She removes her undone bra and raises an eyebrow at Alison who manages a smirk before noticing the two, small, silver balls on each side of Emily's nipples. Upon seeing the piercings, her mouth widens along with her eyes as her breathing still slows down.

She brings her hand up to cup one of her girlfriend's breasts, rubbing her thumb across the pieces of metal and getting an estranged gasp in response.

"You never told me…" she breathes out a laugh. "Wait, how didn't I notice?"

"My bras are usually thick enough to hide the bumps," Emily swallows hard as Alison continues to play with the piercings.

When the blonde smirks, Emily's eyes widen with a mix of fear and arousal; she has no doubts in her mind that Alison will use the sensitivity to her advantage. Almost all too soon, the brunette's assumption proves to be accurate when her girlfriend slightly pinches down on one of her nipples, causing a shaky whimper to fall through her teeth. She blinks a few times before focusing on Alison's face, her smirk a bit softer.

Leaning back down, Emily brushes a few strands of hair away from the girl's face before Alison's smirk from before reappears in full effect as she grabs Emily's hand, taking _those_ select few fingers into her mouth one at a time. Her tongue swirls the tip of each finger as her girlfriend's eyes widen at the sight. When Alison catches her staring intently, she bites her inner cheek and swallows hard.

" _Mm_ ," the blonde hums at the girl above her, "I wonder what _you_ taste like."

Suddenly, one of Alison's hands is boldly sliding down Emily's torso and plunging straight into her underwear, giving the slick area one quick swipe which, in response, causes the brunette to suck in a sharp breath. Though the sensation only lasted for a moment, her breathing picks up, especially when her girlfriend resumes tasting her fingers with a devilish smirk — yet somehow innocent-looking eyes.

It catches Emily off guard, certainly, as her lips part slightly and her head lowers before Alison cautiously nudges her girlfriend to the side so she can straddle her for what feels like the thirtieth time tonight — not that she's complaining _at all_. The brunette lays pressed against the mattress as she watches Alison press her tongue to the inside of her cheek before smiling softly.

"I like seeing you underneath me," she whispers as she leans closer. "I feel… more powerful."

"I wouldn't be so confident in that feeling," Emily whispers back with raised eyebrows.

Though the brunette attempts to keep up with the teasing and not-so-easy attitude, she's pretty sure that the heavy rise and fall of her chest gives away her current vulnerability.

Alison leans in closer, traps her girlfriend's lip between her teeth, and tugs on it before letting go and brushing her nose against Emily's.

"Shh," she shushes the girl beneath her, "I am confident in it…"

Alison plants wet kisses down Emily's neck until she replaces her lips with her tongue, dragging the tip past the girl's sternum before looking up at the brunette again.

"...and you're about to find out why," she whispers with a smile before crawling down further, continuing to work her mouth against the brunette's skin.

Emily's eyes slam shut once Alison reaches her waist and slides the pair of short shorts down partially. She assists the other girl by lifting her ass off the bed, allowing both the shorts and her underwear to come off at once. Immediately, Alison resumes her position between her girlfriend's legs after discarding the clothing items. She pushes herself upwards a bit when she remembers Emily's inner hip tattoo. Alison stares at the small, inked upside down triangle that marks the skin just next to Emily's right hipbone. Leaning forward, she presses her lips to the artwork and hears her girlfriend inhale deeply. Alison peers upwards to see the brunette's eyes shut with her bottom lip snagged between her teeth, her left hand resting on her chest as the other lays on the pillowcase next to her head.

Alison smiles up at the beautiful girl, completely at her mercy. She reminds herself not to linger too long, though it's hard to tear her eyes away from her girlfriend's beauty — even if they both look like hot, sweaty messes right now. She lays there and stirs up some more confidence; she wasn't originally planning on going down on Emily straight away but, honestly, she just feels so tempted right now and she's anxious to see how her girlfriend will react.

The blonde takes a deep breath before placing her lips to Emily's skin again, this time trailing down to the girl's inner thighs. She takes her time planting open-mouthed kisses to both legs, teasing her more and more. Emily's breathing picks up as Alison continues, the hand on her chest moving slightly as she drags her fingertips across her breasts.

" _God_ , Ali," Emily moans once her girlfriend _finally_ begins to drag her tongue the length of her center.

Alison smirks slightly and Emily feels it against her sensitive skin, however doesn't pay much attention to it; she just wants to feel this way forever. The blonde flexes her tongue, sliding in deeper as she switches between the tip and the entire surface, curling her arms around Emily's thighs in order to create more leverage. Her nails dig into the brunette's skin near her hips, earning a sharp moan as Emily slightly shifts her hips upwards. It works for Alison, in the end, because she presses her tongue against Emily's most sensitive area, much like her own, and provokes a bigger reaction: both of the brunette's hands tangle into Alison's hair, scratching at the girl's scalp as she moves her hips up and down.

"Alison," she breathes out when she feels the pressure quickly building, " _please_."

Rewarding the plea, Alison slightly sucks on the other girl's slick folds before continuing with her tongue, extending her arm so she can move her thumb against the girl's clit. She moves quickly with heavy intentions, earning another long moan as Emily's head tilts back further. When Alison notices her girlfriend's hips moving faster, she matches the speed in order to help Emily tip over the edge and, when her orgasm hits, Alison feels proud of herself as she finishes the job.

"Fuck," Emily's back arches off of the bed before her thighs close a fraction, restricting Alison's tongue movement.

Instead of continuing to torture the other girl, for now, Alison makes her way back up towards her lover's face, once again covering her body with kisses. Once they're face to face, Emily's eyes remain shut as her breathing begins to even out. Alison smirks at the sight and kisses the girl's nose which, finally, gets Emily to come back to reality.

"I shouldn't have doubted you," the brunette lets out a breathy laugh as she wipes her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Mhm," Alison purses her lips, "just remember that for the next time."

They kiss again, this time much, _much_ slower and more sensual before Alison speaks again.

"By the way," she kisses the corner of Emily's mouth, "you taste _so_ good."

When Emily's eyes widen at the information, Alison giggles and buries her face into her girlfriend's neck as she remains lying on top of her. They lay still for a few minutes, both catching their breath as Emily drags her fingertips up and down Alison's back.

"Welcome home," Alison sighs and then chuckles at how cheesy that sounded.

"Thank you," Emily kisses her girlfriend's forehead.

In response, Alison lifts her face up and shifts her body so they can kiss more. It's become one of their favorite activities, obviously, even if it doesn't lead to sex. The feeling just makes them feel whole and intimate, like it forms an even deeper connection between them. It doesn't need to be extremely heated or messy, no, but there are always heavy feelings poured into each kiss and make out session. Sometimes, they go on for hours, just lying on the couch while they get lost in their own little world.

Emily turns and pushes Alison back against the mattress, casually sliding the blonde's panties off and nudging her thighs apart with one of her own. She shifts upwards and thrusts slightly, pulling a fresh moan from Alison's throat. The house echoes and both girls finally notice for the first time after hours of not even _trying_ to be quiet.

"Our neighbors are going to _love_ us," Emily smiles and Alison lets out a shaky laugh.

"I didn't realize it'd echo this much," she purses her lips.

"Do you want me to stop?" the brunette tilts her head slightly and Alison's smile grows.

"No," she whispers as she pulls Emily's face back towards her own. "They can deal with it."

* * *

 **As always, before we get into the more-obvious discussion…**

 **How about that Hannily moment when they were separating? While I was revising, I admittedly shed a tear or two because it hits home regarding my own friendships, but I think it was a sweet moment between them. I find Alison's gestures very comforting as well, which was the main goal overall during that "scene" so I hope I accomplished that.**

 **So… Fact: the second part of this chapter (you know which part I'm talking about, people) took me three days to write because I'm a perfectionist — and even if it's not perfect on the characters' accounts, it needs to be what I imagine completely (without sounding too creepy, jeez) or else I just stress out.**

 **Obviously, this is where Emily's confidence shines through the most, and it takes Alison by surprise which is always fun because a speechless Alison is a rare Alison. They match one another really well, especially when it comes to dominance. What do ya think?**

 **How about Emily's piercings? I was actually torn when I was thinking about making it happen because some people I asked said nay and others said yay, but ultimately I went with it; I thought, "Emily probably wouldn't do that," and then I was like, "Fuck it. Make it happen," so there you go.**

 **"Welcome home" — Alison being cute as all hell.**

 **K, I hope this was satisfying enough, at least for now. I'll see you next week (or sometime closer, I don't know). Enjoy PLL (even though I don't think Alison is in 7x09), be kind, don't let people make you grow up too fast, and so forth. In the meantime, I'll be doing the same, and I'll also be working on my new story… *devilish emoji* (really, the internet needs to give me an emoji keyboard).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Surpriiise!**

 **I'm thoroughly relieved by the positive reviews from last chapter. Admittedly, I was a bit timid when posting it because that was my first time writing something extremely descriptive and heated on my own, so thank you for encouraging me with your responses.**

 **So, to the person who asked when they'll start exchanging I love you's (and to anyone who's been wondering, themselves)... I hate to be a Marlene but… wait for it. Pay attention to the next few chapters because they'll definitely drum up to that moment (which is a small spoiler but I feel like you all deserve that).**

 **Meet me at the bottom for a scheduling update which I think you'll be pretty pleased with.**

* * *

Alison's hands tap at the sides of her laptop as she thinks about what to write for her next article. The small clock in the corner of her taskbar says it's currently 3:53 P.M. and she groans; she's been sitting in front of the screen for hours, occasionally walking over to the kitchen to both stretch her legs and get a snack. After Emily had left for work around 10:30 A.M. (following a very reluctant goodbye kiss), Alison made her way over to the living room couch in order to start researching local businesses, though she never found anything very interesting. On top of that, the blonde couldn't get last night (or this morning) out of her head — truthfully, she doesn't want to get it out of her head.

Alison recalls last night; she thinks about the various sounds and movements and, _shit_ , the feelings. Her body aches as she slumps back against the couch, remembering how _determined_ Emily had seemed; Alison knew that the girl was trying to make her body feel like jelly and, well, she succeeded. Hours upon hours had passed before the two began to slow down with their lovemaking. After going quite a few rounds (and, really, Alison had lost track pretty quickly), their bodies collapsed against the bed before Alison snuggled up to her girlfriend's sweaty skin, pressing only a few more kisses against the girl's neck. At the time, her eyes had flickered open to see various scratches and marks strewn along the brunette's flesh, causing her to chuckle. She's never been like that, she thought; she's never had such a big reaction to pleasure and, _wow_ , she's pretty impressed.

" _You know…"_ Alison had whispered groggily, _"I've never… done anything with a girl before."_

" _Really?"_ Emily's eyes shot open, _"Could've fooled me."_

Alison laughs at the memory.

" _Ali, why didn't you tell me? I would've made it more special…"_

" _You already did make it special, Em."_

" _But…"_ Emily searched for the words, her forehead crinkling a bit, _"I wouldn't have had you…"_

" _Shh,"_ Alison interrupted with a gentle kiss. _"I wanted to take care of you."_

A moment passed before the blonde's flickering eyes shot open once again, tilting her head upwards a fraction with another whisper.

" _Shit, Em, I forgot about your head."_

" _Ali, I'm fine. Same as I've been telling you all week,"_ Emily comforted with a small smile and a kiss to Alison's forehead. _"I promise."_

After that, the two had snuggled even closer, Alison's leg hooking between her girlfriend's as they both, almost immediately, fell asleep.

The morning came super fast — _too_ fast, judging by the way the pair had groaned at the bright, early sunshine cascading onto the loft's surface area. Emily had woken up a bit later than usual (with Alison waking up earlier than usual), only having an hour to eat and shower prior to leaving for work. Before heading downstairs, Emily had rolled out of bed and put her shirt and shorts back on, not bothering to find her bra and underwear. Alison watched from the bed, admiring the bare sight before her girlfriend covered herself with the small pieces of clothing.

" _Don't look at me like that,"_ the brunette had said while her back faced the girl on the bed.

" _I can't help it,"_ Alison purred in a raspy voice.

Before anything could happen (and, God, did Emily wish she didn't have to leave), they traveled down to the kitchen for a small bite to eat. Thanks to Alison frequently visiting the grocery store now-a-days, there were many food options including little peel-apart waffle sticks which they, eventually, shared.

" _You can have the last o_ — _"_

" _Don't mind if I do,"_ Alison had scooped up the last waffle stick.

After cleaning up together (with Alison occasionally trying to distract her girlfriend by pushing her against the center island), Emily declared that she needed to take a shower — and a cold one, at that. The blonde smirked at the other girl's words, earning the reply, _"Don't even think about it, Ali. I need to get ready."_ She frowned but, ultimately, complied, mentally deciding that she'll just have to keep her hands at bay until Emily got home from work.

That lasted for only a few minutes as the brunette exited the bathroom, jeans put on however still unbuttoned with only a black bra covering her chest. Alison could have sworn that Emily did it intentionally, especially when the blonde smelt the fresh scent of Emily's body spray.

" _What time do you have to be at work, again?"_

" _Umm,"_ Emily began to button and zip her jeans, _"eleven."_

Alison checked her phone to see the time: 10:21 A.M.

When Emily saw the look on the other girl's face, she started shaking her head with pursed lips.

" _I'll be home before you know it."_

" _And then what?"_ Alison asked in a sultry tone as she moved closer.

" _You'll see,"_ Emily smirked as she fixed her hair, tying it up into a messy bun so no stray hairs will fall onto her face during work, followed by her throwing on a simple, grey t-shirt.

Clearly, judging by the way that Alison's thoughts have been running a muck in her mind ever since, Emily's words did more harm than good. Immediately after the brunette left (with a twisted shirt and bruised lips), Alison pouted as if the other girl would magically come back. She didn't return, obviously, and the blonde tossed her laptop onto the couch along with a notepad and pen. Not-so-surprisingly, Alison became distracted within two seconds, looking up random things on Google and heading to some online shopping sites. Within fifteen minutes, she began to play with her phone, eventually calling CeCe. The other blonde answered after a few rings, greeting Alison with, _"I see your mouth isn't busy anymore."_ Alison shook her head at the time with blushing cheeks.

" _I called to say hello. Not to be teased,"_ she jokingly hissed and the other girl giggled.

" _Well, how did it go?"_

" _How did what go?"_ Alison played dumb as she sunk further into the couch.

" _Play stupid as much as you want, Kiddo. I know you two got busy last night."_

" _Ew, why would you say it like that?"_

" _Was it fun?"_ CeCe sang over the call.

" _Fun is an understatement,"_ Alison partly gushed and began to spill minimal details which, in the end, CeCe accepted; she figured Alison would spill more sooner or later — or maybe Emily would.

The rest of the call went smoothly before CeCe had to hang up. The two spoke about random things, work, and next week's vacation; Mona had decided that they'd leave on Sunday morning after they all met up in front of Alison and Emily's house. The group will stay until Wednesday morning, hopefully getting home before traffic picks up around midday.

" _So, who's coming?"_ CeCe had been eating some chips while on the call, _"I know that Mona is bringing her new boy toy. I don't remember his name. He's only coming for Monday and Tuesday, though. Sounds like a nice kid."_

" _Have they been dating for a while?"_ Alison's nose scrunched up at the new information.

" _Not sure. All I know is that he's doing some shit with construction around the city."_

" _I'm sure Mona finds the constant use of power tools and bulldozers to be very attractive,"_ Alison rolled her eyes as CeCe snickered. _"Emily said that she invited a few friends. Hanna, Spencer, and Aria, I believe. Caleb is also coming up for a few days, as well."_

" _Should be a good time,"_ the two enthused together before saying their goodbyes.

Once the call ended, the movers showed up with a variety of boxes from Emily's old apartment. She instructed the men to stack the moving supplies next to the door (since there wasn't too, too much), and they left pretty quickly. Afterwards, Alison made the effort to move the boxes for her new roommate, carefully burying them in a corner of the upstairs closet near Emily's dresser. They fit perfectly (and _thankfully_ ,since space is limited), and the blonde gave herself a firm head nod once everything was in place.

After heading back downstairs, Alison began to work harder on her computer. She wrote down a few small businesses that she'd like to know more about and, eventually, write about, however nothing really stuck in her mind. Maybe, Alison thought, she could ask if there were any other topics she would be able to write about.

She pushes her laptop onto the cushion next to her, finally breaking out of her thoughts. Sighing, Alison looks around the room, her eyes scanning over the TV before they land on the room's beautiful piano. The blonde hasn't attempted to play it ever since that dreaded day over a week ago; she hasn't found the guts to do it again. What if she messes up again and what if she throws another fit, causing her to spiral out of control like last time?

Alison slams her eyes shut before taking a deep breath and moving over to the instrument. She sits down and hastily pushes the keyboard protector upwards, revealing the shiny keys. It takes her a few more minutes to gather up the courage to play, her hands floating above the strips before laying them back into her lap, repeating this a few times before she rolls her neck once and takes another deep breath.

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again," she encourages herself with a proverb her mother once used in this very same situation.

When she finally hits the first three notes of one of her favorite tunes, the blonde smiles gently and continues to move her fingers. It creates a beautiful, steady rhythm that only fuels her more as she reaches across the keyboard to hit a few higher notes. As she hits the first incorrect note of her small piano session, she grimaces, closing one eye as she turns her head away. _"Try again,"_ her thoughts speak softly. With this, she tries again, hitting the last key that she missed by a fraction and continuing to move her fingers nimbly, hardly recalling the tune as she reaches the end. Once finished, she begins a new one, slightly altering the notes and creating something soft, powerful, and new. She smiles at herself, noting who her new muse seems to be.

Twenty-five minutes fly by at the speed of light as Alison continues to play the piano, the only thing eventually slowing her down being the sound of the front door slamming nearby, followed by a slight groan and the jingling of keys falling onto the hallway table. Emily walks in slowly after hearing the smooth sound of the piano, her head tilted and a grin plastered on her face. Alison looks up with a sheepish, shy expression as her hands stop moving and fall into her lap.

"Don't stop on my account," the brunette narrows her eyes jokingly.

"How was work?" Alison deflects and smiles softly.

"Busy," Emily grunts. "And the crew was teasing me all day because of the wonderful _'new artwork'_ on my neck. Even one of my regulars joined in," she finishes with an exaggerated gesture towards the various red circles and scratches nearby, pulling down her shirt a fraction.

"I'm sorry," Alison coos with some innocent blinking, surprised at herself for not noticing the marks this morning.

"Mhm," Emily glares. "I don't think you are."

"I'm not," the blonde confirms. "I agree with them. Your new skin-art looks nice. I should be an artist."

"If this is your _'artwork,'_ then I'm the only canvas you're using."

Alison smirks at the underlying jealousy, though she's sure Emily knows that she's the only one the blonde wants to work on — she hopes the girl knows, at least.

"Oh, and I forgot that we're supposed to be hosting some nearby event tonight. It's an artsy thing," she plops herself onto the couch as Alison turns around on the piano's bench. "Would you like to go? We don't have to, but they usually have good food and it's a bunch of inked up people acting all prim and proper in slightly-fancy clothing."

Alison laughs at the explanation, "Prim and proper, huh? So, what you're saying is that I have to wear a dress?"

"Not necessarily a dress, if you don't want to. I was planning on wearing a simple blouse and dress-pants," the brunette looks away as she picks at a thread on her shirt.

"I'm fine with wearing a dress," Alison smirks before turning back towards the piano.

"So, you'd want to go?"

"Yeah, why not? We're probably not going to do much tonight, anyway," the blonde replies as Emily creeps up behind her. "Might as well get out of the house."

Just as Alison finishes the sentence, Emily presses her body tightly against her girlfriend's, slightly bending over and holding herself up by the edges of the cushioned bench. She kisses Alison's neck slightly as the girl breathes out and her fingers slide off of the keys. The blonde can finally slightly feel Emily's piercings against her back, causing her to remember the prior night's antics when she preyed upon the small, silver balls and the sensitive bundles they surrounded. She had taken an extended amount of time using her fingers and mouth against every piece of skin surrounding them, driving Emily crazy to the point of nearly going over the edge — again. _"I knew I shouldn't have gotten them done,"_ Emily had choked out, earning the hushed response, _"I beg to differ, baby."_

The blonde moans when she feels Emily travel lower against her neck, teeth sinking into the skin just barely. The brunette's hands slide away from the seat, making their way to Alison's thighs and spreading them a bit. Alison bites her lip in response when she feels her girlfriend's hands travel higher, rubbing against her center through the thin pair of shorts. She accidentally hits a key when she attempts to find something to grab ahold of, causing Emily to chuckle against her neck.

"Shut up," Alison groans as she spins around to face the other girl, pulling Emily into a heated kiss.

As they continue to kiss, Emily pushes Alison backwards, the blonde's lower shoulders partially hitting a few keys and playing a flat tune. They both smile into the kiss before Alison pulls away and shakes her head.

"Don't even try to defile me on this piano, Em," she warns with a stern poke to the other girl's stomach.

"Fine," Emily sighs and pulls away, extending a hand to Alison who looks at it confusingly.

"What?" the blonde narrows her eyes.

"I'm going to _defile_ you somewhere else," the brunette smirks as Alison's eyebrows raise at the mocking tone.

"Is that so?"

"I mean…" Emily backs up with pursed lips, "unless you want to stay down here while I lay in bed _alone_."

"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me, babe," Alison replies as she spins back towards the piano.

Emily stares at the back of Alison's head, dumbfounded, until she lets out an exaggerated breath and walks towards the stairs, the blonde's eyes following her girlfriend's ass as she walks — which, really, Emily can practically _feel_. It doesn't take long for Alison to give in, especially when the brunette lifts her shirt over her head as she's walking up the stairs, flinging it over her shoulder and pulling her hair out of the once-assembled messy bun. After seeing that, the blonde was quickly sliding the keyboard protector back into place and jogging up the stairs where she tackled her girlfriend onto the bed.

"Look who decided to join me," Emily teased as the other girl pinned her down.

"Mm," Alison leans down to her girlfriend's lips, "that's because I think you sound better than the piano."

Emily's eyes widen at the comparison before they share a messy, wanting kiss. It gets progressively more heated, the atmosphere's thickness doubling almost instantly. Both girls fight for dominance in the kiss, pressing one another back and shifting their legs in certain ways, eventually ending up with Alison completely sitting on Emily's stomach as she shifted her hips.

"What time is the art thing?" the blonde stopped moving and wondered out loud, not caring if she ruined the moment — she'd get it back quickly.

"Umm," her girlfriend has a hard time thinking. "It starts at seven."

Alison lets out a small grunt before responding, "I think we can manage."

X X X

"The taxi will be here in ten, babe," Emily notifies as she speed-walks into the bathroom.

" _Mhm_ ," Alison responds as she applies some mascara using the hallway's mirror.

She puts the black tube down before picking up a different one, this time a light shade of lipstick. After applying the color, she moves her lips together slightly and looks up to see her girlfriend checking her out from the bathroom door.

"Nice view?" she wonders with a knowing look, chuckling when Emily clears her throat.

The blonde picks up her "special occasion" perfume and sprays some near her neckline. She looks at the _"Victoria's Secret Bombshell"_ inscription before putting it down, smiling when she hears her girlfriend coming closer.

"Do we have to go?" Emily whines as she comes up behind the other girl, hands gliding across the deep red, tight-fitting dress and taking a content inhale of the fresh scent.

"Yes, we do. I want to meet the rest of your crew," she turns around and gives Emily a knowing look. "After that, I'm all yours," the blonde smiles as she plays with her girlfriend's blouse collar, fixing the lower buttons just right.

"I'd be less anxious if Hanna didn't decide to interrupt us earlier," the brunette rolls her eyes and bites her cheek, earning a soft giggle.

"If I'm not mistaken, you _did_ tell her that you've never been more happy to take her calls," Alison reminds her girlfriend who rolls her eyes again. "It's not like she knew what we were doing… or _about_ to do."

"I'm not so sure," Emily pulls her girlfriend closer. "She's sneaky like that."

They both laugh before sharing a kiss, Emily's hand traveling lower on Alison's back until she grasps the girl's ass. The blonde backs up as she shoots her girlfriend a look before packing up her makeup. They hear a honk, signaling that the taxi has arrived. Before walking out, Alison checks her appearance one last time, earning the response, "You look beautiful, now let's go."

As they slide into the vehicle's backseat, Emily leans forward to instruct the driver on where to go which, in turn, he nods his head and pulls onto the main road. A police car passes them, causing Emily to think of Elliott and his whereabouts. She knows it's probably a shitty idea, but she wonders if Alison has heard anything about what's going on with him, legally.

"Ali, have you heard anything more on Elliott's situation?" the brunette looks towards her girlfriend who chews on her cheek as she turns to reply.

"Nope," she shrugs, "I didn't care enough to ask Ce again."

"Just wondering," Emily whispers as she sinks into the seat, hoping that she didn't just ruin the night.

"I'm not mad at you for asking, Em," Alison reaches over and takes her girlfriend's hand, almost as if she could hear her rampant thoughts.

Emily smiles gently, playing with Alison's painted finger nails. The blonde leans over and presses a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek, earning some curious eyes from the man driving the taxi. Emily notices but chooses to ignore it, changing the subject when she looks at Alison's bare legs.

"By the way," she drawls, "if I catch Berlin checking you out tonight, I'm going to have to kill him."

Alison lets out a laugh as she looks down towards her own legs, shifting her heels a bit.

"Just remember that he doesn't get to come home with me," she smirks and Emily nods in agreement.

"It won't stop him from wishing he was though," she rolls her eyes and huffs.

"Probably not," it's Alison's turn to agree, "but focus less on him and more on me."

Emily's mouth goes dry, though her girlfriend said it in the most innocent tone. The things that Alison said always took on different meanings, depending on what tone she used. It's an extremely powerful weapon against Emily, really, and Alison knows it; she's constantly using the most non-innocent voice in the most casual situations, as well as using a sweet, innocent voice while they heat up on the couch.

The brunette shakes her head as Alison looks at her with curious eyes, a small smile dancing across her lips.

"Here we are," the man up front speaks in a deep voice.

"And here you are," Emily responds while she pays for the taxi ride. "Thank you, sir."

She slides out of the seat as Alison scoots behind her, smacking Emily's ass when she takes too long to fully get out of the vehicle. The brunette rolls her eyes before helping Alison out, earning a grunt from the blonde as she fixes her dress. They look at the building and see people walking through the doors at a fast rate. The structure is massive, though the event only takes up part of the old warehouse. Lights cascade down from old lamps attached to the building's walls, causing the doors to light up a faint shade of yellow.

As they walk in, jumbled chatter immediately flows through the semi-empty space accompanied by the sound of multiple footsteps upon old, polished, wooden floors. The walls are decorated with pieces of artwork completed by various tattoo artists. Most paintings are just for show, however there's a section in the back of the room where things are being auctioned off, all funds going to the charity of Brixton's choosing.

"Did you paint any of these?" Alison speaks loudly so Emily can hear her.

"One," the brunette responds after a moment.

"Can I see it?"

Emily hesitates, suddenly feeling like her work won't be good enough. Her mouth opens and closes before she gets cut off by Alison speaking again.

"Let me rephrase that," she raises her eyebrows. "We're not going home until I see it."

"Fine," her girlfriend grunts as she takes Alison's hand and weaves them through the sea of people.

Once they reach the far, north wall, many medium-sized pictures come into view. Alison looks at them all, giving an impressed nod as she walks down the line with Emily's hand in her own.

"Should I hold out and see if you can figure out which is mine?" the girl smirks deviously.

"No," Alison breathes out with a laugh. "Show me."

Emily moves over towards the end of the wall, pointing to a colorful, blended piece. Alison's heart beats faster for some unknown reason — to her, at least. She moves closer and eyes the work as Emily stands back, wondering what the other girl is thinking. The picture shows a cross between a new-aged pin-up girl and a mermaid, a blend of different shades of teal and yellow covering the patches of scales and two shells. Behind the girl is what looks to be a pirate's map with a prominent, red "X" hidden in one of the corners. The piece's surrounding border is an oriental-looking frame with gold swirls and designs meshing together as it creates an oval shape around the rest of the picture.

"Wow," Alison finally speaks before turning back towards her girlfriend. "What'd you use to color it?"

Emily is impressed with the question, quickly jumping to answer, "I used a mix of water-colors and pastels. I was going to use oil paints but I've never been the best with those."

"What's your style of tattooing, again?" Alison tilts her head.

"Neo-traditional," Emily responds. "I've tried others but I'm only comfortable with that style and most simple forms of letters and script."

"It's beautiful," the blonde gushes at the artwork as she leans into her girlfriend's side, arms wrapping around her waist. "Why weren't you going to tell me that you'd have a piece here?"

"I don't know, honestly. I guess I'm still a little insecure about my work."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't feel that way, Em, because I know you can't just switch that feeling off whenever you feel like it," Alison offers some empathy, "but just know that you're _extremely good_ at what you do. I'm sure you were given a job at the shop for a reason."

Emily feels moved by the words and leans in to give Alison a kiss, however they end up being interrupted by Brixton's wife, Alicia, who wiggles her way through the crowd in order to stand in front of the two.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" she raises her eyebrows knowingly and Emily blushes.

" _Ooh_ ," Alison moves towards Alicia and looks at her dress, eyeing the small, white polka dots along the bright red fabric.

"Isn't it cute?" Alicia smiles as she slightly lifts up the ends as if she was about to curtsy.

" _Very_ ," Alison stresses the word and the other girl thanks her.

"Emily, how's your head?" the tattooed girl asks out of the blue.

"Feeling much better, thanks," she responds as she taps her temple.

The three stand quietly as the room's chatter picks up, the event seemingly being a huge success once again.

"Where's Brix?" Emily finally says when she doesn't see the man anywhere.

"He's working the auction over there," the red-haired girl nods her head over the crowd. "I just came from the backroom after walking in on Berlin and Antoinette in a not-so-normal-for-them position."

Emily's jaw drops a bit before she smiles and breathes out an, "Oh really."

"I kind of just stood there before Berlin told me to give you a thumbs up. Anti didn't like the statement too much," Alicia tilts her head with wide eyes as she remembers Antoinette pushing Berlin off and walking to the other side of the backroom. "Don't be surprised if she comes after you later."

"God damn it, Berlin," the brunette groans and Alison looks at her with a "what did you do" expression.

As the three continue to talk, they move over towards the extended table adorned with finger foods and snacks, Alison not-so-daintily feeding Emily a small piece of cake. Alicia giggles when she sees the blonde girl intentionally get a blob of frosting on her girlfriend's nose, admiring the fact that they remind her of Brixton and herself. While they have a nice time next to the food table, Vincent, another artist stationed at No End (and cousin to Brixton), passes by and nods a hello to each of them before walking into the crowd. He's never been one to speak much, Emily muses to herself, recalling the few times she attempted to strike up a conversation with him, only to have him mumble a few things and keep to himself for the rest of the day. Brixton once told Emily, _"Don't worry. It's not you. He's always been quiet,"_ which helped ease her nerves.

"We can leave soon, if you'd like," Emily whispers to the girl clinging onto her arm.

"That's up to you," Alison whispers back.

Before Emily can respond again, Berlin and Antoinette make their way through the crowd and Emily, on instinct, takes a step backwards, causing Alison to raise an eyebrow as Alicia snickers nearby.

"Hello, Emily," Antoinette purses her red lips and tilts her head as her dark curls bounce.

"Did you give Emily my message?" Berlin directs at Alicia, earning a hard elbow from the girl next to him. " _What?_ "

Emily glares at him as Brixton begins to raffle off prizes, a mix of No End gift certificates and nearby restaurant certificates. Alison leans her head on her girlfriend's shoulder as she tucks her body in further, getting tired of standing around.

Almost all too coincidentally, Alicia announces that she's going back to help Brixton, followed by Berlin looking at the girl next to him and flashing a dopey smile.

"What do you say, Anti?" his British accent comes out thick. "Want to leave?"

Antoinette's lips twitch into a smile, something Emily rarely sees unless the girl's torturing Berlin at work. Her eyes widen at the sight before she looks away from the seemingly new couple. The Spanish girl never responds, however she loops their arms together again before pulling him back into the crowd. Before they fade into the distance, Emily sees Berlin shoot her a thumbs up and smile before being yanked into the cluster of people.

Emily laughs and shakes her head, looking down towards the floor as Alison moves to stand in front of her.

"And what about you?" the brunette looks into her favorite blue eyes. "Want to go home?"

Alison smiles and rests her head on her girlfriend's shoulder as they hug, swaying back and forth slightly as Emily's arms wrap around the girl's waist.

"I'll stay if you want to stay."

"That doesn't sound very convincing," Emily chuckles. "Let's go. I want to rest."

"Rest?" Alison questions with a smirk as they weave through the remaining people, "or _lay down_?"

"Either way, that dress is going to meet the floor real quick," Emily not-so-subtly remarks as she tries to keep her eyes away from her girlfriend's swaying backside.

"Promise?" Alison throws back another smirk as they exit the building, a few taxis parked nearby, likely waiting for more guests to need rides home.

" _Promise_ ," Emily stresses the word with wide eyes and Alison's teeth shine through a smile.

They speed-walk to the taxi, Alison swatting Emily's wandering hands away as they make their way to the vehicle. Once situated in the back seat, the wheels begin to turn as they prepare for a long-feeling ride back to their house. Though they didn't stay home like Emily had originally hoped (and planned), she had a great night. Alison admiring her artwork was the cherry on top, if you asked the brunette; it was nice to show the girl she lo—

Emily swallows hard at the thought, luckily catching herself before even thinking about that word so soon. Her eyes remain glued to the window as they roll along, leaning her head back as she closes her eyes forcefully. _"Shit,"_ she thinks. A split second later, Alison grabs for her hand and rubs her thumb along Emily's knuckles, her eyes shining when the taxi passes street lights. _"Shit,"_ Emily thinks again.

Little does she know, however, Alison is panicking in her own mind as well; she feels it too.

* * *

 **I always love morning after chapters. So much fluff. And Alison's got her knack for the piano back.**

 **If anyone is wondering/has been wondering… I'm pretty artistic, so I tend to speak with great description when it comes to art mediums and/or color pallets. Also, Brixton is partly based on the tattoo artist I spoke to when I was trying to land an apprenticeship. I never went into tattooing, obviously; I enjoy writing much more… but I have three tattoos, if you were also wondering. This concludes the "Facts About Me" portion of my author's note.**

 **How about that ending…? Are there seeds being planted? I think so… in a non-spoiler type of way. We'll see what happens.**

 **Okay! Scheduling! Updates! So, I updated today because 1) I was bored and 2) I feel like ya'll deserve it, just because you're all so sweet and supportive. Next update is going to be on Wednesday (as per usual), and then next weekend (because 11 & 12 were supposed to be one whole chapter, but I split them), and then back to a normal weekly schedule. Basically, it'll be twice a week for two weeks, and then back to once a week so I can slow down and not conclude this story all too soon — I'll definitely let you know when updates are slowing down again though, just so you won't be like "Where teh fcuk?" — Don't worry. I got you.**

 **Next chapter marks the start of their beach vacation and I couldn't be any more excited. Nine people will be in and out of the cottage over the course of four chapters, including Sparia. Get stoked, people. Mini-golfing, cook-outs, wiffle ball, bonfires, drama, etc. — just for a taste.**

 **Mmmk, I'll see you the day after a new episode of PLL. Happy weekend! I'll be playing MarioKart if you need me.**

 **(Tumblr = "capn-charlie") (*hint*)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: It's beach day, everybody!**

 ***puts on sunglasses* Alright, so, I'm excited. These chapters are modeled after the vacations that I used to go on when I was younger (well, for the most part), so they might be pretty descriptive at times. Personally, and weirdly, I'm not that much of a fan of the actual beach, but I love Cape Cod in general, which is where they're heading.**

 **Like I said before, there are songs laced throughout the chapters just in case you'd like to create a small playlist as you read through. If not, whatever; I was amused while writing.**

 **Okay, it's time to meet Mercedes, my favorite character.**

 **This chapter is pretty short… and it's because 11 & 12 were supposed to make up one whole chapter, but it became extremely cluttered so I split them up. Don't worry, Ch 12 will be out in a few days.**

 **Let's go.**

* * *

"Come on, Ali," Emily yells up to the loft, "they'll be here any minute."

The brunette lugs two (of quite a few) large suitcases over towards the front door. CeCe had texted Alison fairly long ago that she'd be leaving her house soon, however still hasn't arrived. Hanna, as well, texted ten minutes ago that Caleb would be dropping her off at Alison and Emily's place so they could all meet up before heading onto the road. Sadly, Caleb has to work today (though it's a freakin' _Sunday_ ) so he'll be joining the group tomorrow and staying until they leave on Wednesday morning. Additionally, the other permanent member of their vacation group, Mona, had only texted Alison once at 7:03 A.M., saying that she'll be arriving around 8:30.

Emily looks at her watch: 8:19 A.M. She groans.

"Calm down," Alison stresses from over the loft's railing. "It's not like we're on a set schedule."

"Yeah, but are you forgetting how impatient CeCe and Mona can get? _Especially_ CeCe," Emily tilts her head to look at Alison who stays silent for a second.

"Point taken," she nods. "Let me finish making the bed, first."

Before Emily can say "Okay," Alison is speaking again.

"And then I have to make sure I have everything."

"Alison, you've quadruple-checked in the span of two hours, and two times yesterday. I think we're fine."

The blonde doesn't answer; she simply skips to the closet while she hums. Emily shakes her head at her girlfriend's antics; she had been in super-fast-packing mode for the last three days, even creating a small checklist on her phone. Most times, Emily would lay on the bed and groan as the blonde ran around the loft, picking out clothes and then throwing some back. It wasn't all bad, however, because Alison finally reached the bathing suit section of her packing checklist, and she decided to tease Emily by modeling a few of them. The brunette had even picked out a favorite for Alison to wear: a navy blue and white-designed two-piece suit with metal rings near the hips and one between the girl's boobs. She had taken an even bigger liking to it when Alison laid down on top of her, muttering some not-so-innocent things as they kissed.

Additionally, Alison celebrated her birthday two days prior (with Emily only finding out a few days before that). The brunette had bought a pretty decent-sized, gourmet cupcake from a nearby bakery, inserted a lone candle into the top, and woke Alison up that morning with the item cradled in her hands.

" _Is this my breakfast?"_ the other girl grinned at the gesture, blowing out the candle after a moment of thinking.

" _Nope. We're going out for that,"_ Emily declared. _"Eat your cupcake, then get ready."_

" _So demanding,"_ Alison teased. _"I get a cupcake and then you force me out of bed on my birthday? With no kiss? Wow."_

The other girl rolled her eyes before leaning closer to her girlfriend's lips, giving her a gentle kiss and leaving Alison's eyes to flutter open when she abruptly walked away.

" _At least stay up here and finish this with me,"_ the birthday girl groaned when Emily kept her distance.

" _I actually get some?"_ Emily put on her best shocked expression.

" _Not with that attitude,"_ Alison raised her eyebrows.

The rest of the blonde's birthday went perfectly; breakfast was delicious, CeCe, Mona, Hanna, and Caleb stopped by, and, best of all, no one even attempted to ruin Alison's special day. It was a small get-together, which Alison was extremely thankful for because none of her friends tried to pull any fast-ones on her, nor did they put together some big surprise party (because, let's be honest, Alison would have unintentionally — or otherwise — decked someone). The gifts were nice, as well. Beautiful pieces of jewelry and pieces of clothing were given by Mona and CeCe who stated, _"Clothing isn't a boring gift as long as it's stylish,"_ to which Hanna waved an agreeing finger in their direction. Hanna, for the gift portion of the get-together, gave Alison a makeshift "gift certificate" which claims that the birthday girl gets an entire, love-life-free, two day vacation with Hanna (who also wrote that she'll be paying for breakfast and dinner those days).

Emily's main gift, obviously, was a bit more personal and pretty sentimental: a decorative (yet still pretty plain) frame holding a black and white picture of them together. The picture was one of Alison's favorites (and still is), because the moment surrounding the memory was just so… genuine; it was a windy day, and they had walked to a small park in the midst of bigger buildings, only to sit on the grass and eat some food that they bought minutes beforehand. After eating, they lounged for quite a while, talking about things that they had seen during their park visit and whatever else they could think of. At one point, Alison pulled out her phone and forced Emily into taking a picture with her. They captured a few kisses and smiles, but one specific picture caught Alison's attention the most, thus becoming her all-time favorite.

The brunette also gave her girlfriend a few other small things as "side gifts," some being inside jokes and some being objects that Alison blatantly said she needed. For the most part, everyone _aw_ 'ed at the frame, causing both parts of the couple to blush. After everyone left, the two enjoyed the night together until the end of Alison's birthday when Emily sighed, _"Finally, I don't need to tend to your every need anymore,"_ earning the comment _"It doesn't need to be my birthday for that to be a requirement."_

Today, both Emily and Alison are really looking forward to this little get-away, and, surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the fact that the beach tends to bring on an even-more-heated vibe (in more ways than one); they're excited to be with all of their friends again, at least once during the three-night stay. Emily is looking forward to seeing Spencer and Aria, as well as meeting Mona's boyfriend and spending more time with Hanna and Caleb. It'll be fun and she's stoked to get away, and, clearly, Alison is too — though she's been panicking about what else to pack.

"Hello, hello!" CeCe chimes as she steps in, a large sun-hat adorning her head with dark sunglasses covering her eyes.

She's wearing a rose-colored tank top that only reaches near her bellybutton and white shorts accompanied by some light-brown, short gladiator sandals.

When the taller blonde doesn't see Alison anywhere and catches Emily's "she won't move her ass any faster" face, she yells up the stairs.

"Kid, if you don't get down here within the next sixty seconds, I'm leaving without you…" she looks towards the brunette, "and I'm taking Emily with me."

"God damn it," Alison starts to storm down the stairs. "Fucking impatient."

"You've known me long enough to understand that I'll never change," CeCe smiles as she turns her body and walks out the front door.

Before Emily and Alison follow, the brunette stops in front of the door with the two remaining bags (the others being situated on the front steps).

"Are you _sure_ that you have everything?" she speaks to the blonde who pushes her sunglasses up over her eyes.

Emily's eyes travel downwards to look at Alison's outfit, also admiring how her girlfriend had fixed her hair for the trip; it's put up in a messy bun, a few strands falling out. Her outfit consists of a light blue, sleeveless sundress with white flip-flops on her feet, showing off her white-painted toe nails.

Coincidentally, she matches Emily a bit; the brunette is wearing a white v-neck t-shirt with light blue shorts and a pair of simple Vans. Her hair flows onto her shoulders, having a bit more wave than usual and, due to the steady sunshine lately, it shows off some natural highlights.

"No, I'm _not_ sure," Alison breathes out a laugh, "but we'll have to deal with what we have."

"Alison, you've practically packed your entire wardrobe. Both of ours, actually. And the bathroom's cabinet. And—"

"I get it!" she laughs harder. "I _know_ that I overpack," she says with a pout.

"Better safe than sorry, I suppose," Emily comforts with a kiss to Alison's forehead. "You taste like coconut sunscreen," she licks her lips and tries to get the lotion's taste out of her mouth.

Her girlfriend giggles before passing by and walking down the front steps, not bothering to take any of the bags. Emily huffs and rolls her eyes, taking as many suitcases and small purses as she can hold in one trip while walking along the sidewalk. As she pulls them to the edge of the curb, Caleb's silver car pulls up along the other side of the street, and the two blondes standing on the pavement wave to the other blonde who steps out of the car wearing a wavy, white tank top and short jean shorts that show off her garter tattoo. Hanna pulls two suitcases out of the vehicle's trunk as Caleb steps out, gives her a kiss or two, and then waves goodbye to the other girls.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," he shouts across the street.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure she behaves," CeCe flashes a devilish smile as Hanna tosses her two bags onto the sidewalk next to Emily who grunts.

"Be safe," Caleb instructs them all before getting back into the car and driving off.

CeCe checks her phone for the time: 8:32 A.M.

"Ce, where's your stuff?" Alison questions the girl who is making a " _tsk tsk_ " noise at the time.

"Mona had me drop it off last night," she shrugs. "Didn't care to ask why. Saves me the heavy lifting."

Emily groans nearby and everyone laughs.

"Are we taking one or two cars there?" Alison speaks up again.

"I'd assume two," CeCe squints her eyes, though no one can see through her sunglasses. "We have everyone's shit and then the five of us. There's no way we'll all fit in _my_ car," she nods towards the tiny, white car parked in the lot on the other side of the street.

Before anyone can respond, a huge, black and silver RV is advancing towards them, stopping practically _on_ the damn sidewalk. They see Mona's small, black car being pulled by the larger vehicle's backside, most likely in case they need a quick ride while they're at the Cape. An obnoxious horn sounds twice before they see a black-hatted Mona opening the side door.

"You're _not_ serious," the tallest blonde's mouth drops at the same time Hanna and Alison burst into laughter.

Emily chuckles from the sidewalk, more so from disbelief than anything.

"Oh, I'm _very_ serious," Mona grins and raises her eyebrows. "Grab your things and let's hit the road," she claps her hands while adding a "Chop chop."

Everyone aside from CeCe begins to grab their bags, stuffing some suitcases into the vehicle's side compartments and bringing others into the actual space. While they walk back and forth, packing more and more, CeCe remains standing on the sidewalk with her arms crossed and a slight smile plastered on her face.

"Do you even know how to drive this thing?" she questions Mona who scrolls through the playlist on her phone.

The dark-haired girl gasps in feign hurt, "Don't be so rude. She's not a _thing_. Her name is Mercedes," she informs, "and yes I do know how to drive her."

"That's definitely not a Mercedes," CeCe chuckles as she steps into the vehicle.

"That's strike one, girly," Mona tuts at her blonde friend as she boards the RV, closing the door when she sees that everyone is inside.

CeCe sits down next to Hanna on the small kitchen nook's bench. Alison and Emily sit across from them on a couch, Alison already rummaging through one of her bags as the brunette snickers. Mona adjusts her hat as she stands in front of everyone, almost like a bus driver during a bus-evacuation test.

"Alright, so," she speaks with her hands clasped together. "Does everyone have everything? Because, well, if not… then you're screwed. I am _not_ turning Mercedes around now."

"Mercedes?" Emily whispers to Alison who shrugs in response.

When everyone responds with something along the lines of "I'm good," Mona continues to speak.

"Good," she sings. "You'll be happy to know that I put together a cute little playlist for the ride there, so shut up and enjoy it," the girl says before plugging her phone into a speaker next to the wheel.

"We have air conditioning and I think there's even a bathroom somewhere," Mona mumbles as she gets situated in the driver's seat, pressing a few buttons and fastening her seatbelt. "I packed a few snacks around the kitchen area because I'm a generous person," she continues, "see, CeCe, it's what's on the inside that counts," Mona refers to the RV, though no one is sure if the statement holds a double-meaning.

"I like her," Hanna mouths to Emily with a finger pointed towards Mona.

Alison snorts when Emily and CeCe share a look. The vehicle's engine starts back up, shaking the girls slightly before it begins to move.

" _Oooh_ ," Mona's voice comes through the cabin loudly and everyone looks around, "and you'll also be happy to know that I have this little speaker thingy up here. Let me know if you want me to sing for you."

The tallest blonde snorts loudly and her eyes widen at Mona's last statement, earning a glare from the driver.

"You get five strikes, Ce," Mona warns while looking into the overhead mirror. "You're already up to two."

"Isn't it normally three strikes?" CeCe counters with a smirk.

" _Yeah_ ," Mona drawls, "but I haven't figured out your punishment just yet."

Emily chuckles from the couch, earning a sharp elbow from her girlfriend.

"That's one for you too, Em Em," Mona sends her a bitter smile and Hanna smirks at Emily.

The wheels begin to turn more and the huge bus moves forward, tipping a bit when one of the wheels hits the sidewalk's curb. CeCe groans and Mona rolls her eyes, mumbling something along the lines of "Fucking dramatic."

"Should I be cliche and honk the horn as I scream something unnecessary?" the driving dark-haired girl looks backwards at the other girls. "Just kidding, I'm totally going to do it anyway."

She slides the nearby driver's window open and honks the horn, leaving the noise lingering for a few seconds as Hanna begins to laugh, causing everyone else to join in.

"It's vacation time, bitches!" Mona dances slightly in her seat before putting both hands back onto the wheel and turning onto a more fast-paced street.

As their long drive begins (and, if we're being precise, it's a bit over four hours), Mona hits a few buttons on her phone nearby.

"Pay attention to the damn road," CeCe hisses when she sees Mona tapping away at the screen.

"Oh, lighten up. I've driven Mercedes a few times before," she continues to scroll through the playlist. " _Oooh_ ," she finally chooses a song.

The group hears the first few beats of Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" boom through the overhead speakers, a wave of satisfied nods coming from all of the girls; Hanna wiggles in her seat, being particularly fond of Lady Gaga's faster, care-free music. As soon as the first round of lyrics comes through, CeCe and Hanna are both singing as well as Mona in the front seat.

Alison leans on Emily's shoulder, making sure to get comfortable since she decided to Google-map the route last night; she had let out a disgruntled sound when she found out that the ride would take over four hours, to which Emily sarcastically remarked, _"Sorry, we're not taking an airplane to the damn Cape."_ Alison had, in turn, tackled her and tickled her sides — one of her new favorite things to do.

"Comfortable yet?" Emily whispers when her girlfriend keeps adjusting her body.

" _No_ ," she huffs, "I hate long rides."

"Really?"

"Yes," the blonde whines before sitting up and slumping against the back of the small couch.

CeCe and Hanna watch the couple, exchanging glances when Alison won't stop moving.

"Ali, just chill and listen to the music," CeCe instructs kindly, earning a grunt from Alison.

Mona begins to sing in the driver's seat, pulling them onto the start of I-95 as the RV picks up speed, the vehicle bouncing as they hit certain spots on the pavement (likely due to construction). Soon, as they progress, Alison becomes a bit less antsy once Emily wraps her arm around her shoulders.

"How cute," Hanna teases from across the space.

" _Ick_ ," CeCe jokes.

"Shut up," Alison and Emily speak at the same time, everyone laughing afterwards.

X X X

After stopping at a rest stop somewhere in the midst of Connecticut so they could stretch and do whatever else, the group hits the road again. Alison, though annoyed that only two hours had passed so far, began to sing along to Mona's playlist, nudging Emily repeatedly until she also joined in. Eventually, all five girls sang to the upbeat cluster of tracks that Mona had put together, enjoying songs that first came out anywhere from 2005 to 2015. The girls were impressed with the variety of genres that Mona included, most likely to appease to everyone with the different artists including Fall Out Boy, Nicki Minaj, Simple Plan, Eminem, Florida Georgia Line, and others.

The previous song fades out as Mona announces over the intercom (with a tour-guide type of tone), "Now entering Rhode Island," while passing the _"Welcome to Rhode Island"_ sign on the side of I-95's current section.

Hanna gets up and grabs some peach ring candies out of one of the small cabinets before sitting down.

"I fucking love these things," she says as she pulls one apart.

"Right?" Mona smiles from the front of the vehicle, being impressed with Hanna's choice.

The group goes quiet as a new song flows through the speakers, no one except Mona knowing the tune. The driver notices the silence and laughs, "This is Mike's new favorite. He made me add it and, honestly, it's not that bad."

The girls listen to the beat and lyrics of "Life Changes" by Good Charlotte before sharing another round of head nods, obviously taking a liking to the new song. Mona sings to it, clearly having listened to it a time or two beforehand. Though no one exactly pegged Mona to be the "punk" type, it doesn't really surprise them; her style is pretty wide-spread when it comes to food, music, and style — it's what makes Mona, well… Mona.

Alison grabs for Emily's hand, followed by the brunette bringing the clasped hands to her lips and kissing the blonde's knuckles. CeCe looks towards Hanna and pulls out her phone.

"Alright, I'm bored. How about some Evil Apples?"

"What?" Hanna laughs with a mouthful of peach rings.

"I installed the game yesterday and now you just need to install it. Come on," CeCe angles herself so she's facing Hanna, helping the other girl find the game in the app store.

Emily chuckles when she hears what they're doing, "You need at least three people."

"I'll play," Alison joins in, already pulling up the app on her own phone. "Emily will too," she says without looking up.

The brunette narrows her eyes before pulling out her phone; she knows that the game is going to become interesting real quick, especially when Hanna finds out about the wildcard option.

X X X

"Look at the pretty bridge!" Mona shouts over the intercom, startling everyone since she's been silent for quite some time — with the exception of humming to the playlist, of course.

Sure enough, the girls look out of the windows to see a giant, suspended bridge in front of them. It's grey with many cars passing over it, not too quickly but not slow at all. They pass over the metal structure with ease, Hanna only peaking out the windows occasionally because she isn't a fan of bridges.

"And look at that fine shrubbery," Mona nods to herself while she speaks again.

The girls look through the front window to see large, freshly-trimmed bushes spelling out _"Cape Cod,"_ situated in front of a rotary sequence.

The girls all stretch as much as they can while staying seated. After an hour of Evil Apples, everyone had put their phones away in order to rest before reaching their destination in West Yarmouth. Like Emily had expected, the electronic game took a weird turn after the dealt card read: _"Things you scream when having an orgasm."_ Hanna had (of course) used the wildcard option to say, _"Emily Fields,"_ causing Alison to shoot the brunette a look as Emily stressed, _"Hanna, why?"_ Alison, on the other hand, had chosen, _"Wrong hole (accidentally, of course),"_ making Hanna say, _"Wait, Em, really?"_ to which Emily raised an eyebrow and CeCe sang out, _"Scandalous."_

Just barely successfully making it through the rotary (after Mona had nearly clipped three different people), the vehicle began to advance towards their ultimate destination: the beach house. As they start to progress through the final stretch of road, the girl up-front clicks on a new song — one of her old favorites: "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings.

" _Yes,_ " Hanna fake cries when she hears the intro. "My teenage-self is so happy."

"This brings back memories," Emily comments. "Remember that night at the park?"

"You mean the night when Aria ate so much Fun Dip that her teeth turned bright green? Yes, I remember," Hanna laughs as everyone else joins in.

As the song continues, everyone sings passionately, Hanna actually knowing when the guitar riff appears as well as the final chorus' pick-up speed. Emily laughs when she sees her best friend looking so happy, noting that it's likely because of the road trip _and_ her new life with Caleb; she's happy that her blonde best friend seems so lively (not to say she wasn't beforehand), because, well, Emily is happy with her own new life as well.

"Are you ready to be done with the drive?" Emily smiles at her girlfriend, a knowing smile on her face.

"I was ready hours ago, babe," Alison responds with a chuckle.

"Twenty more minutes," Mona yells from the front before saying, "oh, wait."

They hear a click before Mona's voice comes through the speakers again, "Twenty more minutes!"

CeCe closes her eyes hard to keep herself from making any comments. The rest of the girls begin to grow more antsy, fiddling with their various bags and purses so they can make sure everything's all set.

Throughout the rest of the ride, the roads become less and less speedy with various signs appearing along the way, arrows pointing where to go and how long until reaching specific small cities and/or towns. Alison leans her head back against the window, taking a deep breath as Mona turns the vehicle onto a smaller, cottage-lined street. Surprisingly, the girl has had little-to-no troubles driving the RV; the small car attached to the back was even still intact. CeCe seemed impressed whenever she looked towards the back of the large RV. She wasn't the only one, though; all of the girls were a bit nervous at the beginning of the ride since no one had really seen Mona drive _anything_ before. Alison had hitched a ride with the dark-haired girl once or twice, but, usually, CeCe drove them everywhere.

Within seconds, the vehicle's engine is cut and Mona's voice fills the air again.

"Here we are," she sings while she unplugs her phone and pushes a few buttons.

The time reads 1:33 P.M. when Emily checks her watch.

" _Finally_ ," Alison groans as she stands up, gently smacking Emily's stomach when she sees her girlfriend stretching.

They file out of the large bus which is parked in the lot's sea-shell covered driveway, being faced with a pair of opened gate doors. As they step out, each girl only takes a bag or two initially. The group huddles on the front lawn. A large, blue cottage-house towers nearby, lined with a white picket fence and small, beachy lawn decorations. Leading up to the front door is a stone pathway, the grass seeping through some of the concrete's cracks. The girls can partially see the ocean from the front yard, causing four out of five of them to stand there with wide eyes; Mona definitely wasn't joking when she said it was beachfront; _"We literally have our own strip of beach."_

The house's paint is peeling off due to the salty sea-air which, noticeably, fills their nostrils quickly. They see (and hear) seagulls flying overhead, completing the entire beach vibe. The cottage, itself, has three floors, though the face of the building looks similar to a single-level. The house's front-side is covered with cute, dark grey shutters and a few windows, most coming with rustic flower boxes.

"It's so cute," Hanna gushes.

"It's even nicer inside," Mona says as she finally finds the keys.

"Hurry up so we can see, then," CeCe speaks and Mona shoots her a glare.

" _Please,_ " CeCe adds with an eye roll, causing Mona to smile bitterly.

As Hanna, CeCe, and Mona walk towards the front door, Alison wraps her arms around Emily's waist and gives her a kiss. The scent of Alison's lotion fills the brunette's nostrils as she gives her girlfriend another kiss, eventually backing up and smiling.

"I'm happy you're here," Alison whispers with a small smile.

"Let's go," Emily grins before tugging her girlfriend towards the others.

* * *

 **Mercedes… A.K.A. my favorite character… A.K.A. the most dynamic character. Thank you for the applause. On a side note, CeCe and Mona's friendship will never cease to make me giggle; I like to portray CeCe as the oldest sibling while Mona and Alison are the troublesome twins in the family, especially when they oppose in quite a few ways.**

 **For anyone who hasn't played Evil Apples ever… you should. It's basically the free version of Cards Against Humanity, and it gets extremely interesting. There have been a few times where I've ended up laughing on the kitchen floor while playing with friends.**

 **How was the rest of the trip? Did ya'll make it to the cottage safely? I guess this chapter could be classified as an intro, of sorts. Next update will have the girls unpacking before they finally get to enjoy themselves on the beach and around a nice, late-night bonfire. Of course, it wouldn't be a real good time without a little drama… but we'll see what's up with that quickly; nothing ever comes free, especially for Alison — especially if we're talking about having a nice time.**

 **Anyone catch onto Mona's boyfriend's name? Hmm…**

 **Ch 12 will be published sometime over the weekend, depending on how bored or busy I am. Look out for it because it's going to be a ride all by itself. Until then, enjoy the rest of your week and work hard on whatever-the-fudge you've got to do.** **Additionally, don't forget to obsess over those .07 seconds of the finale promo... and you know what I'm talking about.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Happy Saturday!**

 **To answer the inevitable question… yes, I took a break from watching the finale promo on repeat just so I could post this chapter. You're welcome. No, but seriously, how about those promos? #Emison, anyone?**

 **Alright, alright, alright. Let's get this show (fic) on the road (and get ready for a holy-shit-that's-lengthy author's note at the bottom).**

* * *

The time flies to 2:45 P.M. pretty quickly. Once the crew had ventured into the house, scoping out each and every room with a round of compliments such as _"Oh my God, look at this cute little painting"_ and _"Look at that view,"_ everyone made a few trips back to the RV before lugging their suitcases and bags into their chosen rooms — though no one bothered to unpack right away.

Emily and Alison, of course, had been instructed that they get the entire basement level to themselves; _"I don't want to hear you two at night, so you're on the bottom floor,"_ Mona made a face at Alison who only grinned while replying, _"And thank you for that."_ In order to get to the cottage's lowest level, you have to venture down a spiral staircase located at the back of the middle floor (since, technically, the house can be considered a split level). Once you get into the basement, you're faced with a large, open room where you can partially see the ocean; almost like a personal living room.

" _Look at how nice the view is,"_ Emily's eyes were wide as she spoke.

" _Mhm, yeah, it's beautiful. I want to see the bedroom,"_ the blonde immediately dragged a few bags into their hidden room, throwing one of them onto the freshly made mattress.

When Emily had wandered into their bedroom, she was pretty impressed with the nice decor and cleanliness of the room, as well as another view of the ocean from the windows situated across from the white-washed wooden bed. At the time, she had looked over at Alison who just bit her bottom lip and looked away, a slight blush crossing her cheeks. In response, the brunette grinned, chuckled, and walked back upstairs to find the others chatting near the kitchen, waiting to visit their strip of beach for the first time.

" _I'm not waiting any longer. I'm going,"_ CeCe slid the glass doors open before jogging down the old, wooden stairs and skipping across the large backyard with the others in tow.

Emily, however, decided to wait for Alison who huffed when she saw everyone crossing the yard without them.

" _Assholes,"_ she rolled her eyes and Emily laughed before dragging her down the back stairs as well.

They passed a large fire pit and surrounding chairs while walking across the freshly cut grass, finally stepping down the multiple, distressed stairs before dipping their toes into the soft, white sand. The seagulls flew overhead, some casting shadows on the ground as they landed on a vacant strip of beach next to their cottage's. All five girls stood in the sand, Hanna taking a few pictures and sending them to Caleb while Mona seemed proud of her vacation idea. The group spent ten minutes in the sand before reluctantly agreeing to eat lunch and unpack before getting comfortable.

"Ali, can you toss me that bag?" the brunette speaks as she keeps her head buried in their closet, breaking the other girl out of her thoughts.

Instead of tossing the medium-sized bag, Alison gets off of the bed and drags it over towards her girlfriend before hugging her from behind. She buries her face in Emily's neck, just snuggling close as the other girl struggles to continue unpacking their _many_ things.

"Are you going to do this every single time you see me unpacking or packing?" Emily chuckles when Alison doesn't let go.

The blonde giggles into the other girl's neck before kissing the skin once and sitting back onto the corner of the bed.

"Is that a problem?" Alison smirks and Emily shoots her a quick look.

"It is if you want me to get this done."

"It's not my fault I'm so distracting," she fires back.

"Um," the brunette's hands fall onto her knees, "it kind of is, though."

"And why is that?" Alison smirks again and Emily shakes her head with a small laugh; the blonde knows she's won.

"Hey, did the others decide who gets which room yet?" Emily turns around in order to grab another bag.

"I believe so…" Alison thinks for a moment. "Mona claimed the room that's right above us and, _God_ , I'm so glad her boyfriend isn't staying for long," her eyes bulge and the brunette chuckles from near the closet.

"Then Hanna claimed the room next to Mona's since it's closest to the kitchen, living room, and bathroom," she continues. "CeCe didn't mind sleeping on the top floor above Mona's room, so that's where she ended up. Everything worked out, actually," she leans back on the pillows.

"Are Spencer and Aria going to be staying on the top floor next to CeCe?"

"I'd assume so, unless they'd enjoy sleeping in the backyard," Alison throws sarcasm at her girlfriend's question.

"Watch it," Emily warns as she zips a bag.

"Watch what?" the blonde bats her eyelashes and bites her lip.

Emily shoves the empty bags into a space hidden inside the closet, closing the wooden doors with a simple head nod before turning back towards Alison who watches her carefully. They stare at one another for a few seconds before the brunette chuckles and breaks the silence.

"What?"

"Come here," Alison smiles softly and pats the space next to her on the bed.

"Don't you want to go to the beach?" Emily's eyes narrow.

"I'm sure the beach will still be there after I'm done with you."

"Alison," the brunette's voice holds a gentle warning, "you have me for this entire vacation and I know you want to go down to the beach."

" _Mm_ ," the other girl hums, "but I won't have you to myself tomorrow because everyone else will be showing up throughout the day, and I want you _now_."

"Ali," Emily tries to stand her ground.

As if on cue, CeCe ventures into their room, earning a sharp look from the other blonde on the bed.

"Ow, Kiddo, that hurts," she teases and Alison looks away with folded arms as Emily rolls her eyes. "We're heading back down to the beach. Mona and Hanna are lotioning up right now, so they'll be out the door any minute," CeCe makes a weird face at the other girls' eagerness.

"We'll be there in a few. I just have to change," Emily says and Alison groans, causing CeCe to give the brunette a questionable look and earning the response "Don't ask."

"Ohhh," the taller blonde purses her lips and offers an exaggerated wink, making Emily narrow her eyes in confusion as the other girl walks out, shutting the door behind her.

After a few seconds, they could hear CeCe jogging upstairs, followed by a loud, muffled "Sexual frustration" in a sing-song voice.

Emily walks over to the other side of the room, sliding out a drawer and grabbing one of her two-piece suits. She eyes Alison who stares back at her, remaining pressed against the pillows. After internally debating for a few seconds, the brunette decides not to bother leaving the room in order to change, though she was _very_ close to doing so. She pulls her white v-neck up over her head slowly (and maybe that was a bit intentional) before shimmying out of the light blue shorts. As she unclips her bra with her back facing the other girl, she can practically feel eyes boring into her skin before she hears the mattress shift a bit.

"Are you coming with me?" Emily speaks softly as she fastens her bathing suit top.

"I guess so," she hears from behind her as she changes into her bathing suit bottoms, sliding on a pair of soft, grey shorts over the other item.

As Emily turns around, she doesn't expect to see Alison nearly undressed completely, her cute sundress in a pile on the floor as she changes into the bathing suit that Emily had dubbed as her favorite. The brunette's jaw drops slightly at the sight, forgetting to blink for a few seconds as Alison takes her time sliding the fabric up her legs before fixing the navy blue and white top.

"Ready to go?" the blonde raises her eyebrows at her girlfriend's expression.

Emily's eyes flicker towards the bed for a split second as her mouth closes and she visually debates on something. When Alison sees the other girl's body language, she takes a few, dangerous steps closer, kissing Emily's cheek once she's pressed up against her warm body.

"You missed that chance," she whispers before tapping Emily on the nose and walking out of the room, leaving the brunette standing in the same spot, dumbfounded.

X X X

"Alison, come here," Emily pleads with the blonde that storms into their bedroom, her body language a weapon all in itself.

Alison paces back and forth, wringing her hands as she breathes deeply and attempts to calm herself as the brunette shuts the door behind them.

"Ali," Emily speaks gently when she sees her girlfriend biting her nails. "I'm _sorry_."

At that, the other girl's eyes snap towards Emily who tilts her head to the side, offering an apologetic look as she repeats, "I'm sorry, okay?"

The blonde shakes her head and sits on the edge of the bed as Emily follows her lead, taking a seat next to the girl and playing with her own hands. They stay quiet for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to speak first. Alison, however, is first to break the silence, speaking in a more-calm tone.

"I don't like feeling like I'm not good enough, Em. I can't deal with it," she shakes her head as she takes a deep breath.

"What are you talking about, Ali? You're more than good enough. Why can't you see that?"

"Because actions speak louder than words, Emily, and when you flirt with someone else then, sorry, that's a pretty telling action," the blonde stands up again as her eyes widen with frustration.

While they were at the beach, Alison had peered over towards a connecting strip of beach, only to see Emily standing next to the mid-level, white fence, volleyball in hand, while talking to some platinum-blonde-haired chick with an even tan, skimpy bathing suit top, and _very_ short shorts. At the time, Alison had just remained sitting nearby, her gaze overlooking the darkness of her sunglasses while waiting for her girlfriend to return to her small volleyball game against Hanna. Much to her dislike, Emily stayed next to the fence for quite a bit, chatting with the girl in, what appeared to be, a much more than friendly tone. Their long meet-up (with the girl giggling a little too loudly when the brunette spoke) pissed Alison off more and more by the second, though she just laid back into her beach chair — that is, until she could see the girl lean a bit more over the fence in a not-so-subtle manner. After that, Alison sat up and walked towards the water in order to cool off, not caring if seaweed attempted to attack her.

CeCe and Mona both saw this — and Hanna seemed to as well (judging by the "I'm sorry" look she shot towards Alison when Emily was taking too long to come back) — but they just left her be; they know how she gets when jealousy strikes, and it was best to not interfere. Thankfully, however, the water calmed her quite a bit, and she watched Emily walk away from the girl ( _eventually_ )before turning back to her game with Hanna, giving the girl a quick _"Sorry"_ as she served the ball over the invisible net. Alison remained in the water before feeling good enough to exit, drying off and making short yet mellow conversation with her girlfriend, careful not to ruin their beach day (or their first vacation day). Sadly, that didn't last long, since Emily absentmindedly mentioned the other girl casually, telling Hanna, _"I must have lost my volley game when that girl called me over,"_ and that's when Alison stormed back to the house, walking faster than the rest who lugged beach chairs up the old steps.

"I wasn't knowingly flirting with her, Alison!"

"But you admit that you were? Flirting, I mean."

"What? I don't know!" the brunette runs a hand through her hair. "I was only being nice but according to you, I was flirting."

"Don't act like I'm the only one who assumed it," Alison warns. "Hanna even gave you a look after it happened."

"After _what_ happened?" Emily shakes her head. "We were talking about the boats that were passing by and she asked how long I was staying for."

"Did you not notice how far she was leaning over the fence?" the blonde challenges. "How about how she kept tilting her head and giggling at whatever-the-fuck you kept saying that was so goddamn funny?"

"And did _you_ notice _my_ body language? Alison, I wanted to walk away but I couldn't help that she kept talking to me," Emily shakes her head in disbelief.

"Why the hell couldn't you have walked away? You could have told her that you had to get back to your _girlfriend_. You know," Alison chuckles bitterly, "me."

"Yes, Alison, _you_ ," Emily fires back. " _You're_ my girlfriend. Not her. And that's how it's going to stay because _you're_ who I'm happy with. Not _her_. I don't even know the girl's name, Ali. I don't _care_ to know. Why can't you understand that?"

After a beat, the blonde girl sits back down, wiping at her eyes slightly as she takes another deep breath.

"Okay," she breathes out; Alison knows she's being pretty stubborn and she reacted with such overkill, but she can't exactly help it. Emily is hers, she claims, and not in the "Property of Alison DiLaurentis" kind of way; more so in the "She's my girlfriend and not yours so understand that and back the fuck off" light, and that's okay — at least, she hopes it is.

"I need you to understand something, Ali," Emily shifts her jaw. "I don't want to be with anyone else. I don't have any desire to wander off or kiss any other girl or, well, anything. And, honestly, it bothers me that you think I'll just leave you for some random chick next door."

"I just…" Alison sighs. "I'm trying to be the best I can for you, but I feel like I still fall short of that. I'm scared that you'll finally realize that maybe being the best isn't in my nature at all."

"I don't want perfect. I want you and, to me, that _is_ the best."

"God, you're so corny sometimes," the blonde leans her head on her girlfriend's shoulder as their fingers intertwine. "I'm glad you think so, though."

Emily kisses the top of Alison's head as they remain seated on the edge of the mattress.

"I'm sorry I kind of… you know, flipped out."

"Kind of?" Emily teases with a smirk and earns a small jab to the ribs. "I'm just glad you waited until we were inside before unloading everything on me. _Impressive_ ," she continues with the teasing and earns a few more small punches.

" _Stop_ ," the blonde pulls back and whines. "I don't like feeling threatened."

"I know you don't, baby," Emily coos and runs her thumb along the other girl's pouting bottom lip.

"She was cute," Alison mumbles with a bigger pout and points a finger when Emily's eyes wander in thought. "Don't you dare agree."

"Or what?"

"Nothing good, sweetie," Alison uses a fake-nice voice and Emily sighs as she gets up.

"Where are you going?" the blonde questions with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, if you were paying attention before instead of making an extensive list of ways to kill me, you would have heard Mona announcing that we're going to dinner at seven."

"I wouldn't have killed you," she mumbles again. "Holding out on you for a few months was at the top of my list of torture, though."

"You wouldn't," Emily says as she rummages through the closet.

"Is that a challenge?"

"No, it's not, so don't even think about making it into one," she says pointedly, earning a satisfied smile from Alison. "Are you going to start getting ready or not? We're leaving in…" the brunette checks her phone which sits atop the dresser nearby, "forty minutes."

"I probably should," the blonde sighs as she walks over towards the closet and hip-checks Emily out of the way, causing her girlfriend to grunt. "What should I wear?"

"I'm wearing my distressed skinny jeans and a blue t-shirt since the air's cooled down a bit."

"That's nice, babe, but I asked what I should wear," Alison smirks when Emily's eyes narrow.

"Don't be so sassy," the brunette offers a small jab to Alison's side before she walks away.

"I'll do what I want."

"Didn't you say that you wanted me?" Emily fires back from the other side of the room.

"Nice try, but I told you that you missed that chance," Alison's eyebrow quirks at her girlfriend before turning back towards the closet. "Plus I'm pretty sure that you're the one who said _you_ want _me_."

"But you want me too."

"Mhm," the blonde hums, "I _suppose_ I do."

"You do. A lot," Emily corrects.

"I _guess_ ," Alison continues to play it off as she finally picks out something to wear: a sleeveless, white and grey dotted blouse with light blue shorts.

"You're not the best liar, babe."

"Then just maybe I'm being honest," Alison smiles when Emily frowns. "Aw, look at that sad face," she walks towards her girlfriend before planting a short kiss on the girl's bottom lip.

"Stop being mean," Emily forces a grumpy face and Alison snickers.

"Or what?"

"Nothing good, _sweetie_ ," the brunette mocks her girlfriend's words from before.

In response, Alison tickles at the girl's sides as she struggles to get away, finally ending up wrapped in the blonde's arms as she whispers, "Are you going to stop mocking me?"

"Probably not."

She starts again, poking slightly at her girlfriend's stomach and chest as Emily breathes out, "Okay, okay."

Alison smiles triumphantly before grabbing her clothes and walking towards the door while announcing, "I'm going to shower."

"Are you going to use the outdoor shower?" Emily teases with a knowing look when Alison grimaces.

" _Ew_ ," the blonde comments as she walks through the door and leaves her girlfriend to get ready.

X X X

The first day of their beach trip quickly begins to end with the group of five girls sitting around a freshly made bonfire. Once everyone had finished getting ready for their trip to a nearby seafood restaurant, they gathered in the main living space before cramming into Mona's small car. As they got situated in the vehicle — Mona and CeCe in the front while Emily sat in the backseat between the two other blondes — Hanna had not-so-quietly commented, _"Wow, Em, I didn't think I'd ever see you again,"_ earning a look from her best friend and a round of agreeing hums from the two in the front seats.

" _Agreed. Alison would have killed us if we were in your position,"_ CeCe added.

" _Why would I care if you were flirting with other people?"_ Alison raised an eyebrow from the backseat.

" _Aw, Ali, I thought we had something."_

" _Ew,"_ Mona intervened with a chuckle.

The rest of the ride was quiet aside from the few times Hanna and Mona took turns pointing towards intricate mini-golf attractions and small ice cream stands on the side of the road; _"We're going mini-golfing, right?"_ Hanna had said in a hopeful tone, earning a " _Duh_ " from Mona.

Once they reached one of the Cape's more popular seafood restaurants, the girls filed out of the car and lined up before ordering their meals. They all decided to try an array of things, ordering foods such as fried shrimp, calamari, scallops, and other items. Hanna, however, also purchased a side of chicken tenders; _"Just in case,"_ she said as she placed the "normal" food item in the center of their table. Much to most of the girls' surprise, everything was delicious, even if it was pretty pricy. _"It's vacation,"_ Mona had reminded them, _"you can treat yourselves to some nice things, babes."_

Afterwards, Mona drove them back to the cottage and they pulled up around 8:35 P.M., the sky getting pretty dark as the waves could be heard crashing behind the house. Each girl, respectively, headed back to their own room in order to get comfortable before wandering into the backyard for the bonfire that they planned on starting. As Emily and Alison stepped through their level's sliding doors and onto the small patio, the two saw Hanna and Mona dancing to whatever song was playing, causing them to share a look before approaching the group. The night was going well, everyone thought, and it was great to get away; Mona's vacation plan worked out just fine.

" _Ooh_ ," Mona makes a noise as she turns the music volume up a level, "I love this song."

The girls agree as Avril Lavigne's voice comes through the speakers, singing "Here's To Never Growing Up." Hanna begins to sing along as Mona follows, CeCe laughing at their karaoke faces as they belt the lyrics out, rocking in their chairs next to each other as they do so.

"You know, with the amount you two are getting along… I'm actually quite surprised you haven't kissed yet," CeCe comments with raised eyebrows and surrendering hands, her drink splashing a bit.

Before anyone can choke out a laugh, Mona grabs Hanna's face and kisses her hard. A second later, they both pull back and share a laugh, Hanna giving an exaggerated shrug and another laugh as CeCe's mouth drops open followed by extreme laughter from Alison and Emily nearby.

"Oh my God," Alison finally gets out.

"I wasn't serious," CeCe starts to laugh along.

"Looks like Caleb has some competition," Emily comments as she tilts her head.

"Mike too," Alison reminds.

"Oh, chill out," Mona changes the song, "though you're not wrong," she sends a wink to Hanna who giggles in response, biting onto the rim of her red cup.

When the dark-haired girl can't seem to settle on a song, Hanna motions for the phone, silently asking to choose one. Complying, Mona hands the other girl the small speaker and phone. Almost immediately, Hanna says, "Oh my God, yes," and CeCe's eyes widen as she looks up from her own phone, relieved to see that Hanna's talking to the device.

"I saw that," Mona comments.

"Saw what?" Hanna looks up from the screen.

"Nothing," CeCe interrupts quickly with a tight-lipped smile.

"Did you find anything good?" Mona questions as she peeks at the playlist.

"A lot, actually," the blonde drawls, "and I pick this one."

As she clicks on the chosen song, the girls hear "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard playing through the speaker — an old favorite, really. The lyrics flow through before bouncing to a few other songs as the group chats about random things, drinking from their red cups and occasional Smirnoffs. Alison, additionally, holds her own bottle, sipping on it periodically as she remains quiet and pretty reserved — too quiet, though, Emily thinks. The brunette looks over towards her girlfriend and sees that she's slumped back into her chair, eyes focused on the dancing flames as her cheeks grow rosy; she looks… hollow. She continues to watch Alison and sees her swallow hard before shifting her position and getting up, muttering a quiet "I'll be right back" as she quickly slips away and disappears through the bottom level's double doors.

Emily's eyebrows furrow as she watches her girlfriend walk away from their friends, eventually turning back to see three pairs of eyes staring back at her, confused looks being exchanged.

"What did you do?" Hanna slightly accuses and Emily's eyes narrow. "I didn't mean it like that, Em," she recovers and the brunette sighs.

"Nothing," Emily searches for the answer in the bonfire. "I mean… I think nothing."

"She does this sometimes, Emily. Just give her a bit and see if she comes back," CeCe offers some insight as the three begin to talk amongst themselves again, though Emily's mind continues to worry about her girlfriend who, likely, is upset for some reason.

Fifteen minutes or so (slowly) pass before Emily notifies the others that she's going to check on Alison. With a round of supportive comments, she walks through the doors and softly calls out Alison's name, though no response. She continues down the short hallway before reaching their bedroom, pushing the door open to see her girlfriend lying on the comforter, her body facing away from the door as her knees are pulled close to her chest. Emily's head tilts to the side slightly as it hurts her to see Alison in such a broken-looking position. She rounds the bed so she can see the blonde's face, kneeling onto the floor and folding her arms as she rests them on the mattress in front of a pair of sunken-in blue eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?" the brunette brushes a strand of hair away from Alison's face.

The other girl starts to cry hard as she ducks her head into her arm, her words becoming muffled as she speaks, "God, no, Em. Please don't think you did something wrong."

"Shh," Emily tries to calm the other girl as she rubs circles on her shoulder. "What's happening, baby?"

"Nothing," she lies. "It's stupid."

"Alison, if it's making you hurt then it's not stupid. You didn't seem happy out there, but I didn't want to put you on the spot by saying something."

"Thank you," she chokes out a small laugh. "It's…" the blonde wipes at her eyes, her voice trailing off. "I feel like everyone is scared to really drink around me and it makes me feel super shitty. It's like I'm holding them back from having fun."

"But everyone _is_ drinking around you. You're not holding anyone back, Ali. Hanna and I aren't heavy drinkers anyway and you know that. I'm not sure about CeCe or Mona but they seem to be having fun no matter what," Emily stands up and slightly picks up Alison, moving the girl's body so she can sit next to her. "They miss you out there, actually."

"I just feel bad," Alison speaks quietly as Emily lies down next to her.

The brunette presses a kiss to her girlfriend's nose before leaning back and continuously tracing shapes along Alison's skin.

"You know," Emily's eyes flicker to the blonde's, "I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"You've come so far," she speaks honestly. "You used to turn to alcohol and impulsive actions to cope with your stress and… you're so much better. You seem happier, too, and I hope that's real. Tonight, you even had a drink with us and I think that counts for a lot, Ali."

"I am happy," the blonde blinks away a few tears. "So happy," she repeats as she presses a kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "Honestly, I thought I'd feel triggered with a drink and I was nervous… but I was having so much fun and forgot I even had it. I guess I eventually let guilt consume me, so I walked away and came in here."

"Walking away is always an okay option," Emily admits, "unless it's from me."

Alison lets out a small laugh before giving her girlfriend a longer kiss, mumbling, "Never," once they depart.

She feels three certain words choking her up as they stare into each other's eyes, though they won't come out and, honestly, she doesn't want them to — not now; not after she practically ditched everyone else to cry in their bedroom. After a small internal debate, she speaks again.

"Do you want to go back out with the others?" Alison whispers as their noses touch.

"Well, you kind of told them that you'd be right back, so," Emily teases with a slight grin and the other girl groans before pushing off of the bed.

"Do I look okay?" the blonde says as she wipes her eyes and nose before fixing her hair.

"Beautiful."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"No, actually. You're always beautiful," Emily says in a sweet tone.

"Are you going to use cheesy lines on me throughout this entire vacation?"

"Do you expect differently?"

"Not really," Alison tilts her head before grabbing Emily's hand and pulling her back through the doors.

They approach the other girls once again as Mona loudly says, "Welcome back!"

The two sit down in their previous seats while CeCe comments, "Wow, you work fast, Emily."

Emily blushes and Alison snickers, though her mind ventures to the many times that her girlfriend had teased her for what seemed like hours before actually going all in and allowing her to climax.

"Sorry," Alison speaks quietly, yet to everyone, "I didn't mean to ruin the night."

"You didn't, Ali," Hanna reassures. "You're back now."

Emily grabs her girlfriend's hand and rubs her thumb along Alison's knuckles, hoping to calm her remaining nerves. It works, in the end, because the couple joins in on silly conversations involving work and their personal lives. Both Emily and Alison end up getting lightly teased about their sex life before the brunette sinks further into her chair and Alison jumps to defend her, fending off the other girls' teasing remarks. Afterwards, Emily tells a few funny tattoo stories and Hanna, of course, shows off her _"Hannily"_ tattoo, getting a "That's too funny" out of CeCe and a "Can we do that too?" from Mona, earning an echo of no's from CeCe and Alison.

"Fine. I'll just get one with Hanna," Mona declares.

"Hey!" Emily pouts and Hanna snorts, not expecting the outburst.

"I really like your leg tattoo, Hanna," CeCe nods towards the other girl's garter piece. "It's different and clean-looking."

"Right?" Hanna looks down and traces the line-work slightly. "It wasn't the most _fun_ to get done," her eyes widen and Emily chuckles nearby, "but I'm super happy with it. Too bad Em wasn't tattooing at the time, though. _That_ would have been fun."

"I wouldn't have made it any less painful, Han," the brunette smirks and Hanna's eyes narrow.

Alison's mind wanders to the idea of Emily tattooing on her skin, instead. Truthfully, she doesn't even know what getting a tattoo feels like; she only knows what people have told her and, judging by the various reactions from the clients she watched her girlfriend ink, the pain or feeling varies by person. However, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't interested in the idea of having her girlfriend write or draw something permanent on her body — it feels… intimate, in her mind, and the concept makes her thoughts race. On the other hand, what if they don't last and she always has this memory of Emily's penmanship on her skin? Once again, if she's being honest, she _wants_ them to last forever, however doesn't know if Emily will want to put up with her constant changes in mood for the rest of her life. Either way, no matter how long Emily stays for, she's changed the blonde's life and that's an important benchmark all on its own.

Soon enough, the chatter dies down again as CeCe looks at the time: 10:14 P.M.

"Shit, I'm tired already," the tallest blonde yawns. "I think I'm turning in for the night. Aren't people coming early tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Hanna confirms. "Spence and Aria should be here around nine or so."

"Ew, early," CeCe confirms. "Are you all staying out here?"

"I'm going to go call Mike before bed," Mona offers her plan.

"Same with Caleb," Hanna yawns before getting up and stretching.

"And you two?" CeCe questions as she gathers her cup and hoodie.

"I'm staying out for a bit longer," Alison answers for herself before looking at the girl next to her. "What about you?"

"Are you really asking me if I'm going to leave you out here by yourself?"

"Alright, kids, I'm out," the taller blonde says as she walks up the old, wooden stairs, followed by the two other girls who yell out a couple of good night wishes.

Before disappearing completely, CeCe yells over the balcony railing, "And I better not hear any strange noises coming from the backyard anytime soon," causing Alison to roll her eyes and Emily to turn back towards the fire, using the metal poker to move around the dark logs.

"How are you feeling?" Emily whispers after a minute.

"Better," Alison takes a deep breath. "I guess I just needed a few to gather myself."

The two sit in silence for a bit, though they both feel comfortable with each other's presence. They hear frogs hidden in the brush nearby, as well as the waves crashing just past the small barrier between them and the beach area. Every now and then, the two can see a firefly or two flickering across the yard, sometimes closer to them and sometimes further away. More silence comes as Emily leans further back, sighing as she stares at the starry sky. Mimicking the girl's position, Alison scoots her chair closer to her girlfriend before laying back and looking up.

"Wow," the blonde muses, "the sky looks so nice tonight. It's so clear."

"I know," Emily agrees absentmindedly, though she's reveling in the fact that she can see many of the sky's constellations.

"I spy the big dipper," Alison laughs at her small discovery.

"Part of Ursa Major," Emily says before she can stop herself from sounding like a complete dork.

"What's that?"

"It means _'Great Bear.'_ See," Emily tries to explain as she leans closer and points at the sky. "It's pretty hard to make out the shape, especially if you don't know what you're looking for, but it's there."

" _Impressive_ ," Alison uses one of Emily's favorite words. "Where'd you learn that?"

"I used to study a lot of astronomy books. There was a point in time where I thought that I'd like to be an astronomer," she explains, her eyes roaming the sky as Alison watches her with a loving smile.

"Okay then," Alison smiles, showing off her beautiful teeth. "What else should I be looking at?" she asks as she tilts her head upwards, slightly leaning closer to her girlfriend who, on the inside, feels her chest flutter more than previous times.

For the rest of their time spent next to the dying fire, Emily points out different constellations and tells background stories on certain stars, Alison being captivated by every word and description. At one point, Alison gestures towards a vibrant star as she asks what it is, only to be told that it's an airplane, causing them to laugh for an extended amount of time, eventually remembering that the other girls were trying to sleep.

"It didn't look like it was moving at the time," Alison jokingly hisses.

Occasionally, afterwards, the blonde asks a question or two before moving onto the next cluster of stars. Sometime during their discoveries, Alison winds up in Emily's lap, arms slung around her girlfriend's neck as her head rests against the other girl's. They continue to look upwards, Emily pointing out which constellations excite her the most and for what reason.

"I'm surprised you're not being _super_ corny and telling me which one is our star," the blonde smirks and Emily feels it against her temple.

"I thought about it," she responds honestly, "but no constellation in the universe could ever match your value."

"Oh my God," Alison buries her face in Emily's hair and giggles.

The rest of the night (leading up until 11:30 P.M.) has the two making silly chit-chat by the now-dead fire. Alison cuddles closer as she grows anxious to learn more about what makes her girlfriend happy which, in turn, makes her happy. It's always the small things, Alison muses to herself as she places a kiss to Emily's forehead, though she wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 ***Millions of #Vandermarin photos and scripts falling out of my bag* Whaaaaat?! Okay, you caught me. I just had to.**

 **On a small note: Tattoos, tattoos, do you think Alison's… interested?**

 **K, anyway, I feel like this chapter could have been titled "Whiplash" if I had been using single words to describe the contents… especially with Alison's jealousy which, by the way, will return and Emily's will surface soon (sometime). What do you people think: was Alison's jealousy justified, or did she kind of… lose it? Gosh, jealous Alison is such a great shade, and she better show up on-screen soon. Hmm, looks like Alison still doesn't feel good enough. We'll have to work on that.**

 **Next up… I think Alison's line "God, no, Em. Please don't think you did something wrong" was/is extremely important because she's always so torn between being open and being reserved, and the fact that Emily now (since Alison had just been mad at her a few hours prior) thinks it's her fault… well, it makes Alison feel guilty, and it sucks but that's what Emily recognizes almost immediately, which makes her realize that it's an internal problem within Alison and nothing she's done wrong. Honestly, I believe that's a big step for both of them because it's a form of trust. I enjoy Emison heart-to-hearts (hint hint the writers, damn)... and I think my favorite one comes in Ch 18, and my favorite CeCe/Alison heart-to-heart is in Ch 17.**

 **The ending of this chapter is always going to be one of my favorites because, if you remember at the beginning of the story, Emily believes that her astronomy knowledge is completely useless and here we are, twelve chapters later, and she's finally found someone who finds her interests completely fascinating. Plus I think Alison pointing to an airplane and thinking it's a star is completely dorky but also adorable.**

 **Next time I see ya'll, it'll be Wednesday A.K.A. the day after the finale… so may the odds be ever in your favor. I hope none of your favs gets killed/injured, and I hope your ships get together (and mine because I'm greedy & need more inspiration). Don't hesitate to message me on here, review with questions about the story, and/or message me on Tumblr ("capn-charlie") whether it's anonymously or otherwise. I'm always up to chat. Hope this extremely long author's note didn't make you roll your eyes too hard, and enjoy yourselves for the next few days!**

 **P.S. I'll be putting out a dialogue excerpt and/or summary from my upcoming story sometime around Ch 15 (in the ending author's note) so look out for it. It'll be angst x100.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: How about that finale? [Skip this top author's note if you haven't watched yet]**

 **Happy? Sad? Angry? Honestly, I'm satisfied with it (especially that Emison scene since it mirrors that infamous library kiss scene), but obviously I'm bummed about the ending. I'm not as bummed about the pregnancy and that's because I've suspected it for at least a month now, so I've had time to grieve. To any Spoby shippers: I'm sorry, and your feelings are valid. To any Ezria shippers: I still believe in your ship. To anyone else who is feeling: I luv u, ok. Anyway, back to the story!**

 **Who's ready for some wiffle ball, and who's ready to see me write dialogue for nine different people? *tired laughter***

 **Okay, I'll meet you at the bottom.**

* * *

"Okay," Hanna places her cell phone down onto the kitchen counter, "they should be here any minute. Apparently, there was an accident somewhere along the way and it took them twenty minutes _just_ to get out of traffic."

It's currently 9:21 A.M., though Spencer and Aria were supposed to arrive around 9:00, which was the main reason why the other girls had forced themselves out of bed — well, Alison and Hanna. Much to Emily's surprise, Mona and CeCe woke up pretty early and they both greeted her with a cheery _"Good morning"_ as she entered the kitchen near 8:30. Soon after, Alison walked up the spiral staircase, giving them a sleepy grunt and glaring at her girlfriend who had poked her a few times, not-so-quietly telling her to wake up; _"It's vacation, Alison. I'm not letting you spend it in bed,"_ the brunette rocked the other girl's body.

Hanna, on the other hand, had practically jogged down the stairs after Mona sung up to her, _"I'm making breakfast, Hanna. There won't be any left soon."_ Once the girl ended up on the main floor's landing, she had seen that Mona wasn't even finished cooking just yet, and sighed heavily while plopping herself into a nearby kitchen chair. Emily chuckled at her best friend, earning a sharp _"Shush"_ as the girl placed her head in one of her hands.

As Mona continued to cook, she flipped on the radio and turned the volume up to a manageable level when she heard "Good Time" by Owl City ft. Carly Rae Jepsen. She put together a nice, little buffet for the others: eggs, bacon, toast, and a display of a few different Pop-Tart flavors. While eating at the large dining table located towards one side of the kitchen, the girls discussed who was arriving at what time: Spencer and Aria at 9:00 (or so they thought), Mike at noon, and Caleb at 3:00 P.M. Next, they decided on the day's activities — well, Mona had decided for them: beach for a while (obviously), mini-golf, dinner off of the grill, and a wiffle ball game on the beach during sunset while the tide is out (since Mona had proudly researched the tide's schedule).

" _I'm crushing you all in wiffle ball,"_ Hanna waved a piece of bacon at the others before quickly speaking again. _"Emily, you're on my team."_

" _Oh, so you really are playing for the same team now?"_ CeCe slyly sipped her coffee while Emily nearly choked on a piece of toast.

" _Half and half,_ " Hanna fired back, earning silence from everyone except for Emily who started choking again, barely getting out a " _What?_ "

After eating, most girls had split and traveled to their separate rooms in order to change quickly and get (partially) ready for the day. Emily put on a casual and comfortable outfit just in case she decided to go for a quick jog around the neighborhood while Mona and Hanna had gotten dressed in their beach outfits so they could be ready for whenever. CeCe and Alison, on the other hand, decided to wait to change.

" _I'm too lazy right now,"_ the taller blonde claimed from the main living space's couch, stretched out along the cushions (and Alison).

" _And her legs are crushing me so I can't move,"_ Alison said from her corner of the couch.

With that, Mona, Hanna, and Emily stood in the kitchen afterwards, waiting for Spencer and Aria to show up. Hanna was noticeably growing impatient quickly (and Emily too, if she was being honest), since no one has really seen Spencer and Aria in quite a bit; Aria lives in Boston, which isn't exactly far, but she's usually busy. Spencer, however, lives in D.C. now-a-days, so it's a bit further away and, really, Hanna and Emily had never visited Spencer since she moved there, nor had Spencer visited them. They spoke frequently (or as much as they could), obviously, but it wasn't the same closeness as before and, sometimes, it was disappointing; _"I guess that's what happens when you get older,"_ Hanna had let a few tears fall one night as she and Emily reminisced on old times.

"Someone's here," CeCe nods her head towards the front door and Hanna nearly rips the wooden barrier off of the wall.

" _Jeez_ , Han," Emily snorts as she follows close by, laughing when she sees Hanna almost knocking over both Aria and Spencer with one big hug.

Emily allows Hanna to unlatch herself from the other two before she exchanges hugs with both Aria and Spencer, followed by another round of hugs from Hanna. Alison watches from the doorway, eager to meet her girlfriend's other best friends, however feeling the need to give them some time to reunite first. She smiles softly when she sees how happy Emily is, admiring how her teeth shine through as she laughs with the other two brunettes.

"I missed you guys so much," Hanna bounces up and down as she releases them from another hug.

"Aw," Aria grins, "we missed you too, Han."

"It's been so long," Spencer's eyes widen when she realizes the amount of time that has passed since they all caught up. "Oh my God, I missed you all."

"How was the ride here?" Emily questions once the two open the car's trunk in order to unload some of their bags.

" _Ugh_ ," the smallest brunette groans. "I almost yelled at a few people. If Spencer wasn't there, I would have."

"Tiny ball of rage, this one," Spencer nudges Aria's side. "I almost had to pull over so she could pace herself out of energy."

The group hears a soft chuckle from the doorway and all heads turn towards the sound. Emily smirks when she realizes that Alison was likely eavesdropping. When everyone looks towards her, the blonde mutters an "I'm sorry" before Emily motions for her to come over to them.

" _Everyone_ ," Emily says to the group once Alison's hand is in her own, "except Hanna," she continues, "this is Alison, my girlfriend."

Aria and Spencer both respond with a small, teasing " _ooh_ " noise before Emily continues again.

"Alison, this is Spencer," the blonde gives Spencer a nice head nod and smile, "and this is Aria," Emily concludes as Alison does the same towards Aria.

"Head nods, that's it?" Hanna's eyebrow quirks. "Nope, I refuse."

She grabs onto both Alison and Emily before shoving them towards Spencer and Aria, creating an even bigger group hug as Hanna almost shouts, "Hey, where are CeCe and Mona? They need to get in on this love."

"They're in the kitchen," Alison informs with a laugh as Hanna backs up from the hug, followed by the other girls who pick their bags off of the ground (since Hanna practically threw them in order to complete the mass hug).

The five girls file through the front door, a few suitcases in hand, as they're met with the other two girls who greet them with smiles and compliments. Mona shows the two to their room upstairs after giving them a small tour of the main and upper living spaces. Meanwhile, Hanna, CeCe, Alison, and Emily linger in the living room as they wait for the other three girls to finish placing their things in the bedroom.

"I heard another car door," CeCe's eyebrows scrunch up and Emily walks over to the window, peering through the blinds and making a confused face.

She turns to the other girls with an unreadable expression before moving towards the front door and turning the knob. The brunette intentionally keeps on her poker face, giving a simple greeting of "Hello there," as she opens the door wider. When the newest guest comes into full view, Emily smiles as Hanna shrieks and flings herself at her boyfriend who had decided to surprise her by arriving early.

"I think I need a new ear," CeCe blinks. "Or two."

"How? Why?" Hanna asks Caleb while she keeps her legs wrapped around his waist as he walks further into the room.

"I was able to leave earlier. They didn't need me and I wanted to see you."

Before Hanna can respond again, Aria, Spencer, and Mona come flying down the stairs with worried expressions written across their faces.

"God, I thought someone was dying, Hanna!" Spencer stresses as she breathes out a laugh.

"I know that _I_ almost did," Aria holds onto her chest as she responds to Spencer. "What even _was_ that noise?"

" _Ah_ ," Mona nods in understanding when she remembers that Caleb was supposed to come later in the day. "Boy toy is here early."

As Hanna continues to hang onto Caleb (for quite a bit, actually), Spencer and Aria head back upstairs in order to unpack while Mona sits with the others in the living room. Alison pushes CeCe's legs off of her lap and pulls Emily down, earning a grunt and a few fake noises of disgust from both CeCe and Mona.

"Hi," Alison bats her eyelashes and plays innocent.

Emily lets out a soft laugh and comments, "So, you're not a tired grump anymore?"

"I wouldn't go that far," she pulls her girlfriend closer. "You smell nice."

"Ce, come here," Mona makes exaggerated kissy faces at the other girl after looking around at the two couples surrounding them.

"Get away from me," CeCe whines when Mona doesn't quit. "Gross," she falls off the couch and everyone laughs, earning the comment "You all suck."

"Alright," Emily says as she gets off of Alison who pouts. "I'm going for a jog."

Before she can take a step further, Spencer and Aria come down the stairs while Spencer says, "Finally unpacked."

"Spence, Ar, come with Emily and me," Hanna suggests. "Everyone can, actually. Let's go."

"Wait, you're coming for a jog?" Emily's eyebrows furrow in confusion and disbelief.

"No," Hanna points back towards the other girl. "Just a walk. No jogging allowed. Come on."

"I'm going to pass on that," Mona absentmindedly says as she scrolls through her phone.

"Same," CeCe comments, now standing in the kitchen area as she pours some iced tea.

"And I need to unpack," Caleb mentions. "I'll be here when you get back," he gives her a kiss on the head.

"Alison?" Hanna shoots her some puppy-dog eyes.

"No, no. You go ahead," Alison responds.

Hanna, Aria, and Spencer walk through the door as Emily stays behind for a moment, slightly frowning at Alison who moves closer to her and plants a kiss on her cheek.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"I'm positive," the blonde smiles. "Go catch up. I want to get ready for the beach anyways."

"Okay," Emily gives her girlfriend a quick kiss before reluctantly walking through the door and jogging to catch up with the others who have already made it a few houses down.

"Someone's pokey," Aria comments when Emily catches up.

"She was _busy_ ," Hanna teases as she bumps into Emily's hip.

"Shut up," Emily blushes slightly, getting a round of _ooh_ 's. "I'm glad you two could come to the Cape."

"Hey, what about me?" Hanna interrupts.

" _Anyway_ ," Emily goes back to the initial subject, earning an exaggerated gasp from the blonde.

"I'm glad too," Spencer speaks. "The only reason I was able to come is because Melissa's wedding is in a few days. Her fiancé lives in Boston and it's actually pretty close to where Aria works, so I flew into Logan airport a day earlier in order to come with Ar."

"And work hasn't been all that busy for me, so here I am," Aria smiles as she kicks a small rock.

"No boyfriend?" Hanna's eyes narrows as if she's reading the shorter girl's mind. "Or girlfriend?" she adds.

Aria giggles, "No way. Busy or not, I have no time for that."

"How about you, Spencer?" Emily directs at the other girl, letting her know that she isn't off the interrogation hook.

"Hey, I'm no more free than Aria is. Do you really think I'd have time for a relationship?"

Everyone shares a laugh, remembering how stressed Spencer could get if her day's schedule had more than two big things listed accidentally.

"You're only staying for tonight?" Hanna speaks again, kicking a rock like Aria had done previously.

"Unfortunately," Spencer drawls. "I promised that I'd help organize things for the reception."

"I love weddings," Aria gushes.

"Then you can help organize."

"No thanks," the smallest brunette snickers as she turns her head away.

A comfortable silence falls upon them before someone breaks it again.

"Alison seems sweet," Spencer smirks as she brings up Emily's girlfriend with a teasing tone.

"I have to admit," Hanna interrupts, "she is my favorite girlfriend of yours."

"You make it sound like I've had many," Emily shakes her head, "or _have_ many."

"I'm just saying," the blonde shrugs. "She's cute and sassy. That's all I could ask for, really. Oh, and I guess I'm glad she treats you so well."

"Thanks, Han," Emily rolls her eyes with a smile.

"Are you two… very serious?" Aria and Spencer both look at Emily as they turn another street corner.

"Yes," Hanna answers for the other girl, earning three pairs of glaring eyes. "What? You are," she directs at Emily. "You have to admit, Em, you like her a lot. Maybe even love."

Emily blushes as she bites her inner cheek; leave it to Hanna to bring this up while others are around, though they've all known each other for what feels like forever. The entire concept of love confuses Emily, ever since she thought she had loved someone years ago but, in the end, it turned out to be such a big clusterfuck that she vowed to stay away from any feeling like that for a long, _long_ time. On the contrary, she does feel love for Alison and, not-so-surprisingly, she _knows_ that it's genuine love and not just some type of strange attachment or protectiveness.

"That's cute, Em," Aria lays a hand on Emily's forearm as she speaks. "I'm so happy for you."

"You deserve it," Spencer agrees.

"I'm sorry I didn't really tell you two about it before," Emily confesses. "Judging from my relationships in the past, honestly I wasn't sure that it'd last longer than a week," she bows her head.

"None of those break-ups were your fault, Em," Spencer reminds. "The three of us knew that those girls were bad news but we just wanted you to figure things out for yourself."

"I hated them," Hanna states bluntly, earning some agreeing head nods.

"They weren't good enough for you," Aria supports both Hanna and Spencer's statements. "If Alison takes care of you like you deserve to be taken care of, then she _is_ good enough and I'm happy you're together."

"Me too," Spencer and Hanna say at the exact same time.

"And I know for a fact that she does take care of you," Hanna mentions. "In more ways than one," she adds while she wiggles her eyebrows.

"Han, _why_?" Emily groans.

"Do tell," Spencer says and all eyes shoot towards Emily who continues to blush hard.

"What about you, Hanna? You and Caleb seem happy," Emily changes the subject quickly as the four girls take one more turn, finally ending up on their cottage's street.

"He's cute," Aria mentions and Spencer hums in agreement.

"If you're asking if he takes care of me or not, then yes," Hanna says in a scandalous tone.

"That's not what I was asking at all," Emily closes her eyes in disgust, not happy when vivid thoughts swirl in her mind; she fights off the impending visuals quickly, relieved when Spencer shifts the topic into a more innocent setting.

"Are you two serious?"

"I mean… I think," Hanna says with an honest shrug. "I'm trying to take things slow this time. With my last few relationships, I jumped into things head first and ended up flat on my face. Honestly, I'm thankful that Emily was living with me at the time or that could have ended up messy."

"I wish we'd all speak more often," Aria frowns.

"We should. We could take frequent trips to visit one another," Spencer nods. "I mean, I doubt any of you would really want to come to D.C., but we could work something out."

"What do you mean? I _love_ government," Hanna sarcastically replies, earning a scowl from Spencer.

The four girls make it back onto the cottage's front lawn before opening the door and walking into the living room. They hear chatter coming from the kitchen where Mona, CeCe, Alison, and Caleb discuss some funny story (judging by the laughter and red cheeks). The four of them are dressed in their beach attire, CeCe also wearing sunglasses already.

"Welcome back," CeCe greets with a mouth full of chips.

"We're going to the beach in a few," Mona says as she leans against the countertop between Alison and the taller blonde. "Are you all coming?"

"I have to get ready first," Emily shrugs when she remembers that she isn't wearing her bathing suit yet. "I'll go change."

"We'll be leaving in a minute or so, so just join us whenever," Mona calls after the girl who is now descending the spiral staircase to the lowest level.

The rest of the group gathers their towels and lotions before walking towards the sliding doors. Alison, however, tells the rest that she'll catch up with them as she moves in the direction of the spiral staircase.

"I hope you two don't take _too_ long," CeCe teases, earning some other teasing noises from the rest of the group.

In response, Alison flips them off as she continues down the staircase, quickly sliding into the bedroom and shutting the door behind her. Emily stands in front of the drawers, topless, as she rummages through the storage to find the bathing suit top that she wants. The blonde walks up behind her and kisses Emily's shoulder and neck while her arms wrap around the girl's torso. For the beach, Alison had decided on not wearing a shirt to go over her bikini top since it was so warm out and, currently, her bare skin is making it a lot harder for Emily to concentrate.

"How was your walk?" Alison questions when she lays her head down against her girlfriend's back and neck area.

"It was nice. Catching up and all," Emily's mind flashes back to that specific conversation about Alison.

"That's good. You all seem so close. I like it."

"Yeah," the brunette's voice grows shaky when she feels soft lips moving against the tattoo near her shoulder. "Ali," she slightly moans, "I need to get ready for the beach."

"I know," Alison continues, moving her lips to the dragonfly tattoo on the back of Emily's neck.

"You're making it very difficult."

"I know that too," the blonde smirks against her girlfriend's skin, finally giving Emily an opening so she can turn around and back up slightly.

"Okay, fine," Alison relents with a huff, "but I want to have you alone at least once during this mini vacation."

"You will, don't worry," the brunette responds coyly, finally picking out a top and covering herself up before reaching for the bottle of lotion.

Alison stares at her girlfriend's body as she continues to get ready. Eventually, in order to occupy herself, she sits on the edge of the bed and fiddles with her fingers, earning a slightly-concerned look from Emily.

"You okay?"

"What?" Alison's eyes snap upwards. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just… I don't want to make today crummy again. I feel like yesterday got so fucked up because of me."

"I had a fun time," Emily walks over towards her girlfriend, standing in between her legs. "I promise."

Alison smiles at the sentiment laced in Emily's words as she takes the girl's hands and intertwines their fingers.

"I want to make today better, though. No jealousy and no little breakdowns," the blonde nods more so to herself.

"Whatever you want," Emily whispers as she leans down to kiss her girlfriend, pushing her own hair behind her ear when it slightly interrupts their kiss.

Alison melts further into the kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance eventually as the blonde attempts to pull her girlfriend down onto the bed. Emily, however, holds herself up while keeping her hands on the edge of the mattress, physically refusing to get pulled down. Alison grunts in displeasure when she realizes what Emily is doing, earning a teasing smile.

"You said that you want me once during this vacation and that one time isn't right now," Emily stands up.

"I said _at least_ once," Alison corrects, emphasizing the words.

"Be patient," the brunette offers her girlfriend a hand in order to pull her up.

"Since when has that gotten me anything?"

" _Ali_ ," Emily gently scolds as they walk through the bedroom door.

Alison sighs in defeat, grabbing back onto her girlfriend's hand as they exit through the sliding doors and walk across the lawn. The sun comes down hot and thick, making the two girls' skin sparkle instantly from the thin layer of lotion. More seagulls circle nearby, some swooping down towards the water ahead in order to catch a fish or two. The couple continues descending the beach stairs before the rest of the group comes into view. CeCe and Mona are lounging in beach chairs, the darker-haired girl reading a book as CeCe's lays further back on her chair, hoping to get a tan. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Caleb are shin-deep in the water, laughing about something as Hanna swats at Caleb's shoulder in fake-distress.

Emily and Alison approach CeCe and Mona, throwing a couple of towels onto the beach blanket strewn in front of them.

"That was a quickie," CeCe comments without opening her eyes.

"Why do you always assume that we're going to try and have sex at the most random times?" Alison questions as she lays stomach-down on the blanket.

"Because I've seen the way you look at her, Ali," the taller blonde smirks at her comment and Alison pinches her foot, earning an "Ow, fuck you."

"You deserved it," Mona says as she continues to read. "No tact what-so-ever."

"And you _do_ have tact?" CeCe offers a rebuttal.

"I didn't say that," Mona responds. "Why do you think we get along so well? No secrets."

"True," Alison adds as she lays her head down onto her makeshift towel-pillow.

Emily sits next to Alison, eventually deciding to lay down on her back instead. They hear Hanna shouting and laughing nearby followed by a few splashes and then Aria yelling, "Spencer, put me down!" The brunette chuckles without even looking towards the group in the water; just the sound of the scuffle is pretty hilarious all in itself.

The small radio hums out the tune of "Starstrukk" by 3OH!3 ft. Katy Perry as CeCe wiggles her head back and forth to the beat.

"Hey, where's Mike?" the taller blonde looks towards Mona when she realizes that it's already a few minutes past noon.

"He's running a bit late," she explains with a forced pout. "He should be here soon, though."

"Doesn't he know not to keep you waiting? Damn," CeCe makes a _"tsk tsk"_ noise.

"Right?" Mona agrees as she puts her book down. "He needs to be trained better."

"That's a strike for him," CeCe declares.

"No, he doesn't get strikes."

"What?! Why?"

"Because I said so," Mona says pointedly and CeCe lets out an irritated grunt.

Alison chuckles into the bunched up towel before turning her head towards the other side, getting a glimpse of Emily's hair when she opens her eyes; she smiles as she watches her girlfriend attempt to tan.

"Okay, girlies," Mona gets up and puts her book back into her large, striped beach bag. "I'm going to wait for Mike at the house. I'll be back."

"Have fun," Alison calls out in a teasing tone, though it's slightly muffled by the towel's fabric.

"I will," Mona calls back in a sing-song voice as she walks up the steps.

After a few minutes, CeCe walks off towards the water, followed by Emily who pushes herself off of the towel.

"I'm going to cool off. Are you coming?"

"No, I'm comfy."

"I'll be back," Emily says as she walks off.

Once she leaves, Alison hears her best friend striking up a conversation with Emily's own group of best friends, causing her to smile; it's almost like family meeting family, she muses; she loves how well everyone seems to be getting along and it makes her happy to know that everyone appears to be creating their own bonds, almost making up one entire, large family. It's a nice thing, both girls think, to know that their friends all support and protect them, and both Emily and Alison have a hard time imagining these solid relationships occurring between anyone other than the two groups here today.

In fact, Alison remembers times before Elliott when she found someone cute, but CeCe and Mona ended up butting heads with the guy's friends.

" _They're too cocky,"_ Mona grimaced.

" _No pun intended,"_ CeCe added.

It happened with Elliott as well, actually. The two other girls were fine with him at the beginning — well, for a day or two — but, after meeting his work friends (or his "slaves," as Mona stated bluntly), CeCe and Mona's perception on Elliott declined greatly. Unfortunately, Alison didn't exactly listen and she stayed with rich man in hopes that he could provide her with genuine love. Those hopes died quickly, however, when his personality grew darker and he became a manipulative, self-centered man — or, maybe, he was _always_ that manipulative and self-centered man.

"Look who I found!" Mona's voice breaks Alison out of her thoughts.

She lifts her head as she hears a few footsteps creeping up towards the blanket from the directions of both the stairs and the water. As she sits up, Alison sees Mona holding a light-brown-haired man's hand (and she correctly assumes that it's Mike).

"Mike," Mona looks towards her boyfriend. "This is Alison."

"And I'm CeCe," the taller blonde approaches the two and narrows her eyes slightly at Mike, a silent promise to make his life hell if he hurts Mona.

She backs off within seconds, offering a gentler smile and a simple handshake.

"Ce, really?" Mona half-hisses. "You didn't do that for Alison when Emily came around."

"She has a point," CeCe says as she turns to Alison.

Alison shoots CeCe a look of warning and the other girl glares back at her, creating a silent, mutual conversation saying something like "Don't even try me." As they stay like that for a few more seconds, the others of the group approach the beach towel. Not missing a beat, Hanna bursts out into laughter, causing Spencer and Emily to laugh as well once they realize what she's laughing at. Caleb and Aria, however, are further back near the water and ignore the noise while they check out a few seashells.

"You're joking, right?" Mike starts laughing as well.

"I'm lost," CeCe throws her hands up while Mona's eyes bounce back and forth between everyone.

Alison nudges Emily's side once the brunette sits back down on the towel, still laughing from the fact that Aria's younger brother just so happened to be Mona's boyfriend.

"Mike?" comes Aria's voice from behind Spencer and Hanna who continue to chuckle.

"Who's Mike?" Caleb leans over and whispers to Hanna.

"Mike is Aria's younger brother and, apparently, Mona's boyfriend," Spencer elaborates with another laugh.

"Oh my God," Alison breathes out when she realizes what Spencer just said.

"That's just too funny," CeCe agrees. "I wish I recorded that. Holy shit."

"What are you doing here?" Mike smiles at Aria who finally hugs him, though she's a bit off since she didn't know she'd be seeing him.

"Spencer and I came to visit Emily and Hanna here," the small brunette explains. "God, this is so weird. You told me over the phone that you have a girlfriend in New York, didn't you? Wow," she continues as she looks around, completely taken aback.

"Aw," CeCe interrupts and looks at Mike, "you told your sister about her? That's so cute."

Mona smiles big and looks up at Mike, "That is pretty cute."

"It _was_ pretty adorable," Aria tilts her head with wide eyes and Mike slightly stutters on what he was about to say. "This is going to take me a few more minutes to wrap my head around."

"Well, I find it pretty damn funny," Hanna comments as she grabs a drink from the small cooler and walks back down to the water, Caleb following.

Aria scoops up a drink as well, handing it to Spencer before taking her own and walking back towards the water as Spencer throws her head back and laughs at whatever it was that Aria just mumbled.

"Do you want to go down to the water?" Mona asks her boyfriend as she rocks on her tippy toes slightly.

"Sure," comes the short yet sweet reply.

She grabs his hand and starts walking down the beach's small slope before telling him she'll meet him there in two seconds. He continues walking after giving her a slight head nod, leaving Mona behind. The dark-haired girl goes to open her mouth when CeCe interrupts her.

"Looks like someone isn't getting any on this beach trip," she smirks and Alison bites her lip, trying not to laugh.

"I still have a better chance than you do," Mona throws back before whipping her hair and walking away, causing CeCe to look away in defeat while Alison covers her mouth with wide eyes and Emily's jaw slightly drops in amusement.

X X X

The group's time at the beach had gone by rather quickly while everyone seemingly grew closer. At one point, Hanna had convinced Caleb to allow her and Aria to bury him partially in the sand with a decorative castle on top. At first, he was pretty reluctant and confused, but eventually Hanna persuaded him and began to dig the hole immediately. While that scene took place, Spencer ended up hanging out with the others up towards the beach blanket. As time rolled on, she became pretty good friends with Mona since their personalities and intelligence seemed to neutralize one another. CeCe listened to the two debate back and forth as Mike did the same, occasionally discussing the most random things with the blonde girl.

Alison and Emily lounged for most of the beach trip until the brunette (almost literally) dragged her girlfriend down to the water. Once the blonde had gotten used to the water's temperature on her feet and stopped complaining, Emily decided to pick up a hermit crab and move it towards Alison who backed up immediately before storming back towards the blanket yelling, " _I swear, you enjoy hearing me complain!"_ The other girl had remained ankle deep in the water, laughing as she plopped the small crab back into its previous habitat.

As time makes its way to 4:00 P.M., the crew begins to pack up as that same platinum-blonde neighbor walks up to the fence like the previous day, whistling to Emily who stands nearby. Before walking over, the brunette looks towards her girlfriend who raises her eyebrows a bit and then turns away, determined to let the girl do whatever she wants. Caleb, Mike, and Hanna tell the remaining girls that they'll be bringing the coolers and chairs back up to the house, earning a collective "Okay, thank you" from them. Though Alison is attempting to read her girlfriend's lips, she can't hear what is being said between the two, however CeCe and Mona both look towards their other best friend as they continue packing.

"I'm surprised you're not over there ripping the girl a new one," CeCe treads carefully.

"So am I," Alison confesses in an honest tone, "but I need to trust Emily."

"Wow," Mona gives the other girl a head nod. "I know we keep saying it but she _must_ be special."

"Wait," Aria jumps in as she throws her towel into a beach bag, "what happened with that girl?"

"She can't take no for an answer," Mona says as she shoots a side-eye towards the blonde neighbor.

Spencer makes a humming noise as if she's disagreeing before explaining, "Emily has never been one to be frank with someone. She's too nice of a person and sometimes that's not the best thing."

Alison stops packing for a second before shifting her jaw and looking up to see Emily trying to back up from the fence, however the girl keeps calling her back. The brunette's body language looks irritated and, right when Alison's about to storm over, Aria mutters a quick "We'll be right back" before grabbing Spencer and gliding towards where the two have been speaking over the fence. Alison stands in the same spot and pretends that she's still getting ready to leave, though she's extremely curious as to what the other girls are doing. CeCe and Mona stand by her side before walking in front of her and pretending that they're all speaking.

"I really think that you should come on a walk with me tonight," the blonde neighbor speaks in a flirtatious tone.

"I—"

"Come on, Em," Aria jumps beside her as Spencer ends up on Emily's other side. "We have to get you ready for your date."

"Da—" Emily tries to get out, only to be interrupted by Spencer's wide eyes.

"What date?!" she nearly shouts. "Emily, Alison isn't going to wait forever!"

"But we—"

"Have a huge night planned, we know," Aria huffs in an exaggerated way. "You told us about this _months_ ago. Remember that…" she leans in closely to Emily's ear, " _huge_ thing you have planned? Please, tell me you aren't getting cold feet."

"She's even wearing that dress you love," Spencer adds as she talks emphatically with her hands.

"Right," the shorter brunette agrees. "The tight, black one."

Spencer moves closer to Emily, turning a bit so the neighbor (who wears an extremely confused expression) can't see her face, "And, between us, she's wearing something else you're going to love."

Emily's lips slightly part as she looks back and forth between the two, earning an "I assume you have to go now" from the blonde neighbor. The extremely confused brunette backs up from the fence and turns around with wide eyes as she walks back towards where the group of three girls stand, finally all facing the same direction.

"Taken care of," Aria says with a gentle caress to Alison's upper arm as she walks by, Spencer also offering the blonde a warm smile.

"Okay, that probably just beat out the whole Mike surprise from before," CeCe mentions to the two as they walk, earning an ass-smack from Mona who stands on her other side.

The four other girls walk up the stairs as Alison and Emily stray further behind, traveling at a slower pace. The blonde grabs for her girlfriend's hand and Emily breathes out a sigh of relief before speaking.

"I'm sorry, Ali," she says. "I told her that I have a girlfriend but she just continued to ask me to go for walks and dinner and—"

"Em, it's okay," Alison rounds her girlfriend and stops in front of her. "I believe you. Some people just don't know when to quit and, trust me, it wasn't your fault. Though, I _was_ about to come over and formally introduce myself."

"Well," the brunette's voice flattens, "thanks to Aria and Spencer, I don't think she'll be near that fence again anytime soon."

Alison laughs before leaning in to give the other girl a kiss.

"Good," she whispers when they depart before pulling her girlfriend back towards the cottage.

X X X

"The tide's out, bitches, let's go," Mona claps her hands together so everyone in the cottage will hear her.

Emily and Alison ascend the spiral staircase in order to meet the others in the kitchen area. The brunette looks at the time and sees that it's already nearing 7:15 P.M. She groans due to being full from dinner as the rest of the group files into the kitchen — CeCe, Mike, Caleb, And Hanna coming from the living room, and Spencer and Aria descending the other staircase.

After their beach time, everyone had crammed into two cars as they drove to a nearby, decorative, pirate-themed miniature golf course. Of course, the game grew competitive quickly when Hanna took five minutes per putt, checking every angle of the current hole's shape and earning a _"Just shoot it, damn"_ from everyone else. In response, CeCe mocked Hanna on her next turn and it turned into an "I have a better putting stance than you" contest. A few times, Alison had intentionally slammed into her girlfriend's dark purple golf ball, causing it to bounce off of a brick and fly into a nearby stream.

" _Seriously?"_ the brunette hissed while Spencer and Aria had to lean onto each other to keep themselves from falling onto the ground with laughter.

" _It was in my way,"_ Alison smirked and blew her girlfriend a kiss as CeCe high-fived her since Emily was only a few points ahead.

Another time had Emily going to take her turn, only to use up an extra thirty seconds before putting since Hanna kept shouting obscene things whenever she went to hit the ball.

" _Boobs."_

" _Tits."_

" _Ass."_

" _Hanna, I'm going to throw this at you,"_ Emily had whipped around with the club slightly pointed at the other girl.

" _No balls,"_ Mona commented from the other side of the course after getting a hole-in-one.

Of course, Mike, the most quiet group member, had won the entire round, earning a distraught look from his girlfriend as he smirked, " _I used to go to a lot of mini-golf parties as a kid."_ Spencer came in second place, having a two point difference from Mike, followed by Mona, CeCe, Hanna, Caleb, Aria, Alison, and Emily.

" _I can't believe I came in last,"_ the brunette kicked a nearby rock with a pout.

" _I can't believe you went through three different balls,"_ Alison gave her a devilish smirk as she counted how many times her girlfriend's golf ball ended up in a stream or caged area.

Next, they left the course and headed back to the cottage where Mike, Caleb, and Emily stood around the grill, cooking an assortment of burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, kebabs, and whatever else Mona decided to pack. It was a nice cook-out, actually, especially when nothing lit on fire like they had initially pictured happening. At one point, Alison had sauntered towards her girlfriend who stood by the grill and kissed Emily on the corner of her lips.

" _What was that for?"_

" _Aren't I supposed to kiss the cook?"_ Alison made up an excuse, though she never needs one.

" _Look who's being corny now,"_ Emily mused as her eyes flickered towards the grill.

" _Did you just look at the corn on the grill?"_

" _Maybe,"_ the brunette answered and earned a slap on her backside before Alison walked back towards the other girls.

Mona squints her eyes as she looks over the group before grabbing the bag of wiffle balls (just in case more than one is needed) and a couple of plastic, yellow bats. She gestures for everyone to head out, much like a grade-school teacher, before she follows the group down the stairs and across the yard. The sun is still pretty warm, however it's cooled down quite a bit and a few clouds are rolling in; though it's late May, the weather has been off the charts lately. Emily looks around and notices the impending sunset, due to go down around 8:20 P.M. Seagulls still fly by and a few float way back on the water as they descend the worn-out beach stairs.

Without hesitation, the group of nine walks down towards the flat, damp sand as Mona throws the equipment down and draws "home plate" with her heel.

"Mike, can you please go and make first, second, and third base?" she asks in a flirtatious tone and he gives her a smile before heading off.

Within seconds, he's at the spot where second base should be, calling to Mona, "Is this far enough?"

"Yeah, babe, thank you," she smiles before turning towards the other who are taking ocean-backed group selfies and talking amongst themselves.

Mona thinks for a moment before pulling out her phone and flipping through her playlist, heightening the volume of the device as she picks "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls and places it on a nearby (but far enough away) boulder. Mike walks back towards her and waits in case she needs him again.

"Okay, listen up," she turns back to everyone who immediately stops discussing whatever. "I'm choosing teams."

Hanna groans as if she's in an elementary school gym class.

"Wait," CeCe interrupts. "There's nine of us."

"I'm not playing," Spencer leans forward in order to talk to CeCe.

"What?" Hanna stresses. "Spence, why the hell not?"

"If I break an ankle tonight, Melissa will literally kill me tomorrow."

Hanna crosses her arms and slightly pouts, causing Spencer to mock her nearby. Aria elbows Spencer who shoots her a "what did I do?" look.

"Now that that's settled," Mona continues. "Let's get started."

Everyone looks between each other as Mona makes a few different faces while she thinks. She points a finger at each individual before shaking her head as if she's internally erasing a chalkboard.

"The sun's going to set before you've decided," Alison speaks up and everyone chuckles.

"Strike one, Ali-cat," Mona tuts and the blonde's eyes narrow at the nickname. "Alright, the first team is… Caleb, Alison, Hanna, and Aria."

Alison's eyes narrow even further when she realizes that Mona (most likely) intentionally kept her and Emily separated. Hanna, nearby, groans when she realizes the same thing, however soon shoots Emily a devilish smile after thinking about how she's going to kick her best friend's ass. Those four part to the side, discussing what sounds like a game-plan of sorts.

"Team two is Emily, CeCe, Mike, and me," she smiles, "and, Spencer, can you kind of… keep track of the score and make sure things run smoothly? This may get messy."

"Definitely," Spencer says happily as she walks off and starts to draw a small scoreboard in the sand. "What's your team name?" she yells in the direction of Aria who asks the rest of her squad.

" _Caha_!" Hanna shouts back, causing her teammates to give her a bunch of different looks. "Like… Caleb, Alison, Hanna, and Aria…" she explains with a small voice.

"Okay then," Spencer says with a head shake. "What about you?" she looks towards Mona's team who shrugs when she turns to face them.

"Three Brunettes and a Blonde," Mona shrugs when she can't come up with anything better.

"That won't fit in the box," Spencer chuckles and rubs at her head.

"Fine," Mona grunts. "Call us _'The Better Team'_ then."

"That sounds fake," Alison comments from the other side of the "field."

"Well, I already wrote it down," Spencer drawls, "sorry."

" _Really_ , Spence?" Hanna's face deadpans and Aria snorts at the expression.

"Okay, who's up first?" Spencer changes the subject and her eyes dart between Mona's group and the other huddle.

"Make it fair, Mona," Alison warns.

"Fine," the girl huffs. "What's the name of the beautiful RV parked in the—"

"Mercedes!" CeCe nearly shouts and Hanna whines when she was about to call out the answer.

"Yes!" Mona claps as she walks back over to the playlist. "We're up first."

Emily, CeCe, and Mike walk over towards home plate as the other group takes the field. Alison shoots her girlfriend a competitive glare as she walks past her, followed by a stern shoulder bump from Hanna as Caleb and Aria pull her along and towards the other bases. Mona taps on the screen a few times, creating a smaller playlist within the actual, original playlist. The first song that plays is Gavin DeGraw's "Best I Ever Had."

"Ready when you are," Spencer shouts as she sits on another nearby boulder, this one a tad smaller and flatter.

"Who's up first?" CeCe looks between the team.

"I'll go if no one else wants to," Mike offers and Mona gives him the O.K.

"Are we going to play or are you four just going to chat about the damn music all day?" Hanna taunts from second base, causing the rest of her team to join in.

Four pairs of eyes flash towards the other team before Mona whispers, "Aim so it's just out of Hanna's reach, please," to Mike, then backs up along with CeCe and Emily.

Aria stands at the pitcher's mound in the middle of the drawn diamond, her small frame not taking up much space. She holds the white, perforated ball in her hand as Mike picks out a yellow bat and lines up with the plate.

"God, this is just like family vacation," the smallest brunette mumbles from the pitcher's mound before winding up and tossing the first pitch.

Much to her team's disappointment, her first throw rolls along the sand after a small breeze comes by and knocks it straight downwards.

"Aria, we're trying to win," Hanna hisses, though it's with a playful tone.

"I can't control the wind, Han," Aria turns around before catching the ball once Mona throws it back.

She winds up to throw again, this time the ball picking up speed as it passes the plate. Spencer, from the perfect view, calls it a strike and CeCe shouts, "Bull!" The scorekeeper just chuckles before saying, "Hey, I can eject you if I feel it's appropriate."

"Yeah, Ce," Alison adds from third base.

Emily chuckles, earning an elbow from CeCe as she hisses, "You're supposed to be on _my_ team."

The next pitch is ready once Aria gets the wiffle ball back, taking an exaggerated breath and sticking her tongue out as she throws it straight down the middle, Mike hitting a ground ball in Hanna's direction.

"Get it, Hanna," Aria jumps around on the pitcher's plate as the blonde runs forward, scoops it up, and tosses it to Caleb who stretches to make the play successfully.

"Yes, babe," Hanna praises. "That's one down," she points at Spencer who gives her a thumbs up to let them know that she's recorded it.

"Nice try," Mona coos and rubs at her boyfriend's arm as she steps up to the plate with an "I'm next!"

Aria gathers the ball and tosses it towards the batter, but it ends up hitting Mona who says, "Oopsies," and walks towards first base with a smile.

"I'm not convinced," Spencer makes a face. "You didn't even try getting out of the way of that pitch."

"Of course I did. Didn't you see me twist?" Mona's eyes narrow dangerously.

"Not really," Spencer's lips flatten into a straight line and she nods back towards home plate, causing Mona to roll her eyes and walk back.

Emily and CeCe keep their mouths shut as Spencer and Mona continue to exchange looks. Hanna, at second base, laughs while Alison plays with something on her top. Mona lines up again, a determined expression crossing her features as she sticks her front leg's foot into the stand, squatting a bit with the bat. Aria throws the ball and, at the last second, Mona flattens the bat and bunts, causing the white ball to hit the ground and only roll a few inches as Aria panics and runs towards it, trying to deliver it to Caleb before the runner reaches first base. Much to her disappointment, it doesn't get there in time and Mona is called safe.

"I wasn't ready," Aria points a finger at everyone as Caleb tosses the ball back towards her.

"Come on, Ce," Mona yells from first base as she takes a small lead in the sand.

The tallest blonde girl lines up at the plate, fumbling with the bat and earning a snort from Alison at third base. Once she gets situated in her preferred stance, Aria wiggles a bit on the pitcher's mound before sticking her tongue out once again — clearly it's become part of her throwing routine. As she throws it, another gust of wind comes and takes it sideways. Mona, almost about to steal second base, is stopped when Spencer shouts, "No catcher, no stealing." Much to her dismay, she stays put and waits for Aria to throw another pitch.

"I believe in you, Aria," Alison cheers nearby, laughing when Mona responds with a "Boo!" from the other side of the diamond.

Aria relaxes her shoulders as she gets ready to deliver another pitch, this one turning into a sinker as CeCe swings hard, twirling a bit when she misses.

"Wow," even Mona laughs at the swing.

"I wasn't designed for this, okay?" CeCe bites.

" _Meow_ ," Mona responds.

The next pitch comes quickly, and it's hit in Alison's direction. The blonde third baseman gets it hit off of her hand before it bounces to her left, somewhere towards Aria. She runs towards it and tosses it to Hanna who, at the time, wasn't paying complete attention, mumbling an "Oops" when everyone ends up safe.

"I thought you said that we wanted to win, Han," Aria raises an eyebrow at the girl, earning an apologetic shrug.

"If you hit it at me, I'm suffocating you in your sleep tonight," Alison warns when she sees her girlfriend stepping up to the plate.

"I'm not making any promises," Emily looks back at Alison before getting into her own stance.

"Ali, stop checking her out," Mona says from second base. "Emily, focus."

The brunette flips the bat around in a "professional" fashion, wiggling around before Aria throws the pitch. It nearly hits Emily, however doesn't due to her stretching out of the ball's path. She sees Mona hold her hands out near second base.

"Why didn't you let it hit you?" she then raises her hands over her head.

"Reflexes," Emily shakes her head and lines up again.

"Mm," Alison hums from nearby and everyone turns their head as she looks away.

Aria stretches a bit before getting into position again. She throws the white ball towards Emily who swings and misses, earning a dull "Ha" from her girlfriend. The brunette rolls her eyes before picking up the ball and throwing it back to the pitcher. After getting ready for the third pitch, Aria throws the ball which, in turn, slows down due to the wind. Emily hits it at the precise second, however, sending the ball flying over Hanna's head as she tries to jump and misses. The girls at second and first base both round third, Emily running a base behind as Hanna chases the wiffle ball down and throws it back to Caleb (who is now at second). Emily successfully makes it to third base and her girlfriend gives her a look to which she responds with a smirk as Mona, CeCe, and Mike celebrate.

"That was rude as fuck, Fields," Hanna says once she returns to second base.

"Two to nothing," Spencer notifies after she finishes putting a couple of tally marks in one of the boxes. "One out."

Mike steps back up to the plate, swinging at the first pitch and hitting a pop-up between Hanna, Caleb, and Aria. No one runs for it at first, however, and it falls to the ground, causing Mike to be safe at first base. Meanwhile, before Emily can take off, Alison wraps her arms around her girlfriend's waist and digs her heels into the wet sand so she can't run towards home plate. The brunette struggles loudly while her team shouts claims such as "That's cheating!" and "Spencer, say something!" Spencer, however, lets it slide as Emily begins to break free, dragging her girlfriend through the sand as she tries to power towards home plate.

"Can someone tag her?" Alison stresses at her team as she attempts to keep Emily held down, eventually climbing onto her back and putting her hands over the girl's eyes.

Within seconds, Aria has the ball and she's running towards Emily, booping her on the shoulder with the white orb and smiling at Alison who, finally, lets go and sticks her tongue out.

"I'm sorry," the blonde says. "Were you trying to run away?"

Emily's mouth stays agape as Spencer yells, "Two outs!"

"That was clearly cheating!" CeCe argues.

"What was cheating?" Spencer smirks.

Mona steps up to the plate for her second time hitting. The first pitch misses wildly and nearly hits CeCe who is quite a few feet behind the batter's box. Aria makes a face and gives her a "Sorry" as she catches the ball. The small brunette looks back towards her team before shaking her head and throwing it again, catching Mona off-guard. Unfortunately for Mona, her instincts cause her to hit the ball right into Aria's hand.

" _All-right_ , Ar," Hanna gives her a high-five as the teams switch.

The new hitting team discusses their batting order as the other team chooses their bases: CeCe agrees to pitch, Emily stands at first base, Mike claims second, and Mona chooses third. Emily fixes her base's line-work while Aria picks up a yellow bat, her team cheering for her in the back.

"Two to none," Spencer repeats in an announcer's voice. "No outs."

Aria stands near the plate, extending the bat over the drawn marker as she gets ready to hit the ball. CeCe plays with the white orb, twisting it in her hand as she figures out which way she wants to hold it. She decides a few seconds later, her fingers grasping at the perforations in the plastic as it gives her a better grip. Winding up, she tosses it in Aria's direction and it's called a strike by Spencer. Once CeCe gets it back, she starts over before throwing it again: another strike.

"God damn it," Aria grunts and taps the sand with her bat.

"Three for three, let's go," Mona dances at third base.

The next throw is hit pretty hard in Emily's direction. It hits the brunette's foot and rolls nearby, however she's able to extend to grab it while keeping her foot on the drawn plate. Her knee plants into the ground as she successfully gains the out as Aria runs by. The small brunette pouts when she looks back at Emily, getting a matching pout in return.

Following Aria's at-bat is Alison who takes her time choosing a bat — though they're nearly the same.

"Don't miss, babe," Emily yells from first base and Alison steps up to the plate. "Or do."

The blonde stretches her back before figuring out how she wants to stand. Before she's ready, CeCe pitches it and Spencer shouts, "Ball!"

"You have it out for me, don't you?" CeCe shouts back.

Spencer shrugs while CeCe shoots her a small smile, letting her know that she's only kidding. The ball flies back at the taller blonde while she's not looking, hitting her directly in the chest. She looks in the direction of the throw to see Alison giving her a bitter wave.

"Bitch," CeCe mumbles as she gets back into pitching position.

"I learned from the best," Alison responds with a kissy face before twirling the bat around.

"Pitch it, damn," Mona groans from third base.

Finally, CeCe throws a pitch and Alison hits it instantly, this one also flying in Emily's direction, however going over her head. She runs backwards as Alison rounds first base and even passes second. Once the brunette gets it back into the diamond, Alison is stationed at third base as she offers her girlfriend a smirk from across the field. Emily rolls her eyes and prepares herself as she sees Hanna stepping up to the plate. The new blonde hitter taps the sand a few time before pretending to spit nearby.

"Ew, Hanna," Aria comments from somewhere behind her.

"Classy," Caleb comments with a chuckle.

CeCe throws the first pitch as Hanna launches it towards Mike. It hits him in the knee before falling to the ground. Instantly, he scoops it up and flips it to Emily who ends up bobbling it. On her way towards the first basemen, Hanna notices Emily's slight struggle and gently shoves her, causing both the brunette and the ball to fall over with a thud as she continues to run towards second and, eventually, third base. When Emily goes to throw it to Mona from her spot on the ground, it falls short and Hanna runs even further, getting the first homerun of the game.

Caleb gives her a kiss and a "Good job" while Aria and Alison also commend her and give her a pair of high-fives. Emily, after sighing heavily, gets up and brushes herself off before flipping Hanna off.

"Next time I bat, I'm aiming straight for your head," she warns with a laugh and Hanna sticks her tongue out.

The rest of the game goes by smoothly (depending on your definition of smooth) until the sun completely sets around 8:30 P.M., and that's when they decide to call it quits. The entire group walks through the drier sand before making it to the steps and heading into the backyard together.

For the game, the winning team ends up being " _The Better Team,_ " due to CeCe's power hitting that decided to grace her group during her third at-bat. For the others, Caleb, at one point, hit the ball so hard that it shattered into three pieces; _"And this is why I brought at least seven spares,"_ Mona said while she walked over towards the bag. There were a few more instances with Alison trying to distract Emily from both batting and running. For example, during one inning, the blonde whispered a thing or two in her girlfriend's ear while she stood at third base, causing Emily to swallow hard and not realize that the ball was already in play. Another instance, an inning after, had Alison biting her lip in a way that shouldn't be done in a public setting, causing Emily to miss a couple of pitches.

" _Emily, get your mind out of the gutter,"_ CeCe hissed from behind the batter, resulting in her missing another pitch and striking out.

The group of nine reaches the backyard after a few more minutes. As Mike and Mona start up the bonfire, the rest go to their respective rooms in order to change into more comfortable clothes. It doesn't take long before they all return and claim whichever seat they want: Hanna sits in Caleb's lap, Mike and Mona's chairs are pressed against each other, Spencer and Aria sit next to one another with CeCe between Spencer and Emily, and Alison sits on her girlfriend's lap, slightly mimicking Hanna's position.

The fire roars between them as conversations bounce back and forth. Somehow, Mike becomes the topic, causing Aria to bring up quite a few childhood stories as Mike bows his head at his sister. Mona enjoys hearing the stories, and even asks questions to which Aria responds honestly and enthusiastically; they end up getting along very well, and Aria tells Mike that she should tag along and visit their parents sometime — Mona accepts the invitation, of course, once Mike agrees. After that, the topic gravitates back towards another embarrassing story and Mike groans.

" _Why_ , Aria?" he says as he shakes his head.

"It's a pretty well-known rule that family members need to embarrass the hell out of you in front of whoever you're dating," Spencer states after taking a sip of her drink.

"That's a real fact," CeCe agrees with a point towards Spencer.

"It's actually pretty funny if you're not the one being spoken about," Caleb adds, remembering when Emily told him a few stories about Hanna — though the blonde is never really embarrassed.

Alison snuggles into her girlfriend's body further as the chatter flows through again, sometimes getting loud but occasionally quieting down. Every now and then, Hanna and Caleb kiss and someone pesters them about it, causing the group to get rowdy again with a round of _yuck_ 's.

"Have you always had those tattoos, Emily?" CeCe asks as she leans over and pushes the brunette forward a tad so she can see the line-work. "Wow, I'm blind."

Alison and Mona snort, both commenting, "You think?"

"They're so nice," she continues to look at the dragonfly and shoulder tattoo. "Where did you get them done?"

"No End," Emily answers after taking a sip of her drink.

" _Duh_ ," CeCe shakes her head at her own question. "Who did them?"

"Brixton did the dragonfly and Anti did my back-shoulder piece."

"Oh yeah, Emily. Don't you work at No End now?" Mike comments, vaguely remembering Aria mentioning something a while back.

"I do," she confirms with a head nod. "It's been a while now, actually," her eyes squint as she thinks of how long it's been.

"That sounds like a fun profession though. Your drawings never go away," Mike offers a smile; the Montgomery family has always been one of the more creative families from their town — even Mike, himself.

"I love it," she takes another sip of her drink. "I just wish my parents did too," she mumbles, though it's pretty audible.

"Oh well," Hanna states bluntly when she overhears, causing both Aria and Spencer shoot her a piercing look. "What? Emily is doing great things with her career and she's happy."

"I am happy," Emily agrees as she hugs her girlfriend's body. "You're right."

"Wow, did anyone record that?"

"I take it back," the brunette rolls her eyes and Hanna smiles bitterly.

"Let's move onto a new topic then. How about nipple piercings?" she devilishly smiles and Emily backs down while Alison gives her a pat on the leg.

"What about them?" Spencer's eyes bounce between Hanna and Emily.

The brunette groans and hides her face in Alison's back. Seemingly, everyone puts two and two together pretty quickly, mostly due to the way that Emily's now blushing and Alison is biting her lip. CeCe glances at Alison with a scandalous expression, causing her to (very obviously) look away from the taller blonde.

"You didn't," Spencer half-questions, half-says, a small look of disbelief crossing her features.

"Oh, she did," Hanna confirms and raises a challenging eyebrow at Emily who attempts to hide again.

"Were you a part of this decision-making process?" Spencer speaks again, directing the question at Hanna with a pointed look.

"Why does everyone always seem to think that I convince her into making these decisions?" Hanna tries to keep a straight face but fails miserably.

"You definitely weren't trying to talk me out of it," Emily reminds while pointing her finger at Hanna.

"Why would I? They're hot," the blonde girl shrugs before shifting her focus to Alison. "And I'm sure they come in handy during—"

" _Anyway_ ," Aria interrupts and everyone breathes out. "Mona, I just wanted to thank you for inviting us. I really enjoyed it."

"Me too. Thank you," Spencer agrees. "Aside from mini-golfing, this was a super relaxing mini vacation for me."

Everyone chuckles at the mention of mini-golf aside from Hanna who defends, "That game was _super_ relaxing."

CeCe's phone chimes with a text message as she pulls the device out of her pocket. She taps away at the screen while the others make side conversations with the person next to them instead of talking over the fire. The tallest blonde continues to type out a lengthy message before she seems to pause, scroll down a bit, and her eyes widen with a sigh. She holds a hand to her forehead before running the same hand through her hair.

"What's wrong, Ce?" Mona looks at the girl as she tilts her head.

"Ali," CeCe leans over a little but doesn't speak very softly. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" her voice is slightly shaking, though she tries to keep a poker face.

"About what?" Alison carefully asks, a heaviness already pooling in her chest for whatever reason.

"Elliott," the other girl whispers this time.

Alison bites her inner cheek as she bows her head with a sigh. Emily's arms tighten around the other girl's waist when she feels her body language stiffen and become more… cold.

"No," Alison shakes her head finally and CeCe narrows her eyes in confusion. "No, whatever it is… you can tell me now."

"Are you—"

"I'm positive, Ce, please. Talking to me alone won't help anything," she explains as she bows her head again and fiddles with Emily's fingertips.

Everyone else tries to occupy themselves and not eavesdrop, however it's pretty obvious that they still are, especially when Spencer and Hanna keep eyeing the blonde sitting in Emily's lap. No one except for CeCe, Mona, Emily (for the most part), and (of course) Alison knows about Elliott, however everyone can quickly pick up on the fact that he isn't a nice guy and Alison isn't very fond of him — nor are CeCe, Mona, and Emily.

"Okay," CeCe swallows hard and looks back towards her phone's screen. "He was released today. Bailed out, I mean."

"But we already knew that was going to happen," Mona interrupts with an obvious tone.

"There's more," CeCe is timid to speak, locking eyes with Mona who doesn't like the expression on either of her best friends' faces.

"I'm ready. Go," Alison breathes out.

"I'm not—" CeCe gets interrupted by Alison once again.

" _Please_."

Emily laces their fingers together when she hears a small shakiness in Alison's voice, pulling the other girl impossibly closer as she places a kiss on her shoulder with a comforting "You're okay. I'm here."

CeCe takes a deep breath before scrolling down further and explaining, "I had a close friend at the local police department keep an eye on everything, as a return favor for something. Anyway…" she continues, "he messaged me just now to let me know that Elliott was bailed out…" she closes her eyes tightly, "by Mr. and Mrs. DiLaurentis."

Alison feels her heart sink and tears well up in her eyes as she turns her body to be cuddled in closer to her girlfriend; truthfully, she knew that there was a chance of this happening, especially since she's seen the way her parents have looked towards him like another ( _better_ ) son, but she always figured it was just paranoia or her pessimistic behavior. It sucks, she thinks, to know that her parents would practically throw her away like a piece of trash, but then welcome such a slimy man into their life like he's a golden child. Alison has always assumed that it was the money and, realistically speaking, it probably is; they know Rollins' company could help their own and, maybe, they even dream of taking over the business world eventually.

"Ali?" Mona pries in a soft tone from across the fire. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Mona," CeCe speaks up in a defensive tone. "Her parents, they're…"

"Very shitty people," Emily cuts in, and her friends have never seen that kind of angry look in her eyes.

Mona and CeCe both bow their heads while Hanna, Aria, and Spencer shoot Alison and Emily three identical, sympathetic looks. Mike and Caleb just sit quietly and perhaps a bit awkwardly.

"Ali," Emily coos as she drags her nails along the other girl's back, "do you want to go inside or something?"

"No," the blonde shakes her head softly as she wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I want to stay out here."

"Whatever you want," she repeats her words from earlier, giving her girlfriend a kiss on the side of her head.

"I don't know what's happening, but I'm down to kick someone's ass," Hanna slightly jokes with a small smile — though no one knows if she's really kidding or not.

Alison laughs weakly but mirrors the other girl's smile, whispering a small "Thank you, Hanna."

"Alison," Aria tries, though her body language makes it out like she's walking on eggshells. "I know we've only known each other face to face since… this morning," she smiles and looks towards Spencer for a split second, "but we care about you."

For some reason, it means a lot to Alison knowing that Aria is so open to her in such a short amount of time; it's comforting, really, and more tears well up in her eyes before she blinks them away. It's a new feeling, she thinks, to have so much love and so many close bonds laced within people who aren't exactly related (aside from Mike and Aria), causing them to feel like a stronger family than she's ever been a part of.

Alison smiles back as the tears flood towards her eyes again and, judging from the way Aria's own smile grows, she can actually see the thankfulness.

"You know," Alison swallows hard and looks towards CeCe after taking a deep breath. "It really fucking sucks that they keep coming back into my life," she states with a bite and the taller blonde lowers her head in something similar to guilt.

"But," Alison speaks softer, with a healing expression gracing her features, "it'll be okay. They're not family. _This_ is my family," she states, "all of you," speaking to the group and looking at everyone individually, "and I want to thank you for showing me what true family is, because I feel so much better than I did a month ago, or a week ago, or even a few hours ago. Thank you," she speaks honestly with a few tears falling.

"We love you, Ali," Mona speaks up. "All of us," she says and gets a round of agreeing comments and head nods from everyone else. "And you're a part of our family too."

"Hell yeah," Hanna comments excitably and everyone looks at her for breaking through the conversation's soft and comforting vibe. "What?"

The side conversations pick up again once Alison turns towards Emily, playing with her fingers like beforehand.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Emily whispers as she looks her girlfriend in the eyes.

"I wouldn't say I'm okay…" Alison sighs, "but I will be, and I think that's what matters."

"It is," Emily plants a kiss on Alison's knuckles. "And you know I'm here whenever."

"I know, Em. Thank you so much," the blonde whispers before giving the other girl a gentle yet lingering kiss.

Once again, those three damn words dance through each girls' mind, but neither figures that it's the right time — like always. In a perfect setting, they'd be alone and in a happier mood with no one (or _nothing_ ) fucking things up. Unfortunately, that rarely happens, and they feel like they'll soon have to understand that. The issue for them is that they want things perfect, even if both girls realize that neither of them are perfect in their own ways. Emily, currently, begins to form a small plan in her mind for the next day; she wants to make their last day of vacation _perfect_ — or close enough to it.

"Ali," the brunette whispers and the other girl looks up, "tomorrow night… it's you and me, okay?"

Alison's eyes narrow a bit, but she smiles before responding, "Promise?"

"Promise," Emily chuckles gently at how often they seem to use the word.

The rest of the night goes by much better; Alison seems to grow happier and, if you ask her, she'd admit that she _is_ happier since time has passed. No one leaves the fire until around midnight (or maybe even a bit after) and, really, no one particularly _wants_ to, however Spencer and Aria are leaving around noontime and Mike has to leave by 2:00 P.M. They separate and head back to their respective rooms at roughly the same time, putting out the fire before shutting off the back porch's lights and locking up for the night.

Once Alison and Emily get into bed, the blonde is immediately curling into her girlfriend's side after grazing her neck with a pair of soft lips.

"Thank you again," she whispers once the brunette is nearly asleep within seconds.

She pauses for a few moments, wishing that she could just give the other girl a late-night "I love you," but the words don't come out and, once again, she's glad they don't; Emily deserves to hear that phrase while she's completely awake because, honestly, Alison doesn't throw the phrase around. It's always been hard for her to love and, ever since she handed those three words to Elliott when he never deserved them, her perception on the emotion has been majorly altered — until she grew closer with the girl lying practically underneath her, that is.

So, before falling asleep herself, Alison places one last kiss on the corner of Emily's lips.

* * *

 **Little note: Am I the only one who's always wanted to see a bisexual Hanna Marin? I can't possibly be the only one, so, I'll confirm it right now… Oh, and she's also a human-shaped love detector, clearly. Other side notes: CeCe's character development with Mercedes continues… stay tuned. Also, I've always pictured Alison as a dirty player when it comes to sports and/or games, which was really fun to write for.**

 **"I came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now" — Mike and/or Aria, probably. Also, I'll be honest… writing for Mike is a bit challenging. I feel like he doesn't really speak much, even in the show. The only dynamic Mike storyline we've seen was when he was with Mona, so I'm trying to walk the line and make sure he doesn't seem too "whipped," but also not too quiet either. We'll see. He'll appear in more chapters.**

 **Team #Sparia, anyone? I love what they bring to the table and I really wish I could have written more for them. Unfortunately, their last appearance is at the beginning of Ch 14 — Otherwise, I guess we'll just have to wait for my new story… *creepy Grinch smirk***

 **So, Elliott… when will you just leave everyone alone? To answer: You'll see, but it won't be for a few more chapters. How about Alison's parents posting bail though? How rude.**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It'll probably be one of my favorites forever, even if there wasn't much Emison. Make sure to review and tell me what your favorite part(s) was(were). One last thing… does anyone feel some I love you's coming on? Mhm, mhm. The pressure's on.**

 **I've decided to post Ch 14 this weekend since I don't feel like destroying the vacation vibe (as if I need another excuse to post early), so I'll see you this weekend. Trust me, you don't want to miss Ch 14... but, in the meantime, enjoy yourselves and, again, my love goes out to those who need it because of the finale (and, well, anything that's getting anyone down).**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: I can't believe we're already in September, and I can't believe that it's their last full day/night at the beach house.**

 **Thank you (as always) for the wonderful reviews. I hope you know that I read each and everyone and, normally, I'm smiling like an idiot or head nodding to agree with ya'll.**

 **So, here's a long-awaited chapter (you'll know what I mean when you get there), so please enjoy it because it's at least ninety percent Emison and that's the best kind of chapter.**

* * *

As Monday night became Tuesday morning, clouds rolled in and covered most of Cape Cod. The temperature dropped a bit, even though the sun had decided to show up near 11:30 A.M. — and, even then, it didn't show up much, which is likely why the temperature was at a standstill. Since the nice weather turned so crappy overnight, the group had stayed in for most of the morning, only heading down to the beach so Spencer and Aria could see it one last time before heading off around noon. The two soaked it in before walking back up the wooden stairs as Aria fake-cried, _"I'll miss you, beautiful."_ Spencer snorted as they made their way back into the large cottage in order to pack their bags and head off.

When it was time to leave, the entire crew stood near Aria's car, exchanging hugs and goodbyes. Hanna, without catching anyone by surprise, let a tear or two fall; watching her best friends leave has always hit her in a vulnerable spot and, likely, it always will. Emily, on the other hand, held herself together as she spoke to each of her three best friends saying, _"We'll all be together again soon. We'll make visiting plans and vacation plans."_ In the end, all nine group members agreed to the plan when Hanna added, " _We should all do this again,"_ and CeCe said, " _I'm down."_ After that, Spencer slid into the driver's seat with Aria in the passenger's side as the windows rolled down. Everyone waved, much like some old, cliché movie scene.

Next to leave was Mike sometime near 2 P.M. Mona, reluctantly, had helped her boyfriend pack the car up with his two compact bags before she jumped onto his back and pleaded with him to stay longer. CeCe, standing in the doorway, rolled her eyes and shot the comment _"I've never seen you beg so hard"_ before Mona threw the biggest glare her way, causing the blonde to back up and close the door. Everyone had said their goodbyes to Mike beforehand, just a precaution so they didn't have to witness the couple making out in the driveway — and it was a pretty damn good idea on their part.

Once CeCe, Mona, Caleb, Hanna, Alison, and Emily sat back down in the living room, things seemed ten times more quiet; it felt like the life of the party just completely died, both because of the weather and the three big goodbyes that took place just before. At the time, the TV mumbled on in the background as the smaller group sat quietly and watched. When more quietness came, Alison looked towards Emily and earned a small smile right off the bat, followed by the blonde grabbing the other girl's hand as their fingers intertwined. Minutes later, the room grew impossibly quieter and Emily looked towards CeCe to see her asleep in Mona's lap as the dark-haired girl played with her hair. On the other side of the living room, Hanna was curled up on Caleb's lap as she also napped. Emily's slight movement caused Caleb to snap back into reality as he looked down, saw Hanna asleep, and carried her to their room for a better nap.

" _Are you sleepy?"_ Emily whispered to Alison, earning a small head nod from the quiet girl. _"Okay, let's go."_

With that, the two left the living room and descended the spiral staircase to take a short nap as the clouds remained thick over the ocean, which could be seen from their bed.

Their rest, overall, takes a little over two hours, only to have them wake up to peaking sunshine and a slightly warmer temperature. They travel upstairs once they hear Mona and CeCe discussing something in the kitchen, the sound of laughter finally filling the main floor for the first time in hours.

"Good afternoon, sleepyheads," CeCe comments as she turns to continue cooking an early dinner with Mona.

Alison grunts as she rubs her eyes before plopping herself down on one of the table's chairs next to Caleb and Hanna. Emily follows, taking a seat in the nearest spot to her girlfriend.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Alison speaks up, directing the question at Mona.

"Anxious to leave already?" the girl says in a playful tone.

"No," the sitting blonde groans. "I'd stay here forever if I could."

"I second that," CeCe adds as she cuts up some lettuce.

"Too bad that's not in my job's contract," Mona chuckles. "I don't think that would fly with my boss."

"We don't have to tell him," CeCe shrugs.

"You're not the best at staying hidden," Mona reminds, referring to the many times that both CeCe and Alison had tried to spy on her when they thought she was secretly dating some bigshot company head.

The taller blonde sticks her tongue out and makes a face as Alison snickers at the table.

"We're leaving around ten in the morning," Mona explains after a minute. "No later. And don't forget to clean your rooms and make the beds," she reminds the rest.

"Aye aye, captain," Hanna remarks from the table.

"Watch it, Marin," Mona jokes with a smirk.

"I'm leaving with Caleb tomorrow, though. Don't forget," Hanna reminds, earning a few pouty faces. "I'm sorry," she matches their expressions.

"So, what's the plan after dinner?" CeCe asks everyone else in order to change the subject, looking over each individual as she turns around and puts her chopping on hold.

"Caleb is taking me go-kart racing and then we're stopping for ice cream," Hanna beams.

Emily looks towards Caleb with raised eyebrows as she claims, "I'll pray for you," earning a hard kick from Hanna underneath the table.

"What about you two?" CeCe waves a cooking utensil between Emily and Alison.

"Not sure," Alison responds before tilting her head in Emily's direction, obviously waiting to hear their plan.

"You'll see," the brunette shoots back a hidden look.

"Hm," the taller blonde grunts with narrowed eyes. "Okay, so I guess that leaves Mona and me."

"If only Mike hadn't left…" the dark-haired girl talks to herself while flipping pieces of chicken with a fork as they sizzle on the stove.

"What do you want to do tonight?" CeCe asks as she goes back to chopping vegetables for the salad.

"Why don't we go to Hyannis? I feel like shopping."

"Alright," CeCe nods. "Fine with me."

The group eats dinner together, complimenting both girls who had prepared chicken, salad, and a big bowl of seasoned rice. They discuss meaningless things and observations as they chow down on the food, Hanna and CeCe both burping when finished. When the dishes are cleaned and put away, everyone goes their separate ways, departing to their respective bedrooms so they can get ready for whatever they're doing for the night.

Emily and Alison head back downstairs and see that the time reads 5:34 P.M. The blonde sits on the edge of the bed as her girlfriend squints at the wall as if she's thinking, making a few different faces while Alison chuckles.

"Cute," she comments.

"Thanks, I know," Emily responds absentmindedly as she continues.

A minute or so passes before either one of them speaks again. Emily claps her hands together once she's reached whatever verdict in her own mind.

"Okay," she rubs her hands together. "I just need to get dressed and then we can go."

"Wait," Alison interrupts. "First of all, I need to shower because I feel gross. Secondly, where are we going?"

"I mean… I don't want to tell you. It's nothing big, but I still don't want to."

"You're a pain," the blonde groans and flops backwards before sitting up almost immediately. "At least tell me what I should wear."

"Whatever you'll feel comfortable in," Emily shrugs.

"What if I don't feel comfortable in anything?" Alison fires back in a husky tone and her girlfriend shoots her a "seriously, we don't have time for this" look.

"Mm," Emily's eyes narrow, "and what were you just saying about _me_ being a pain?"

Alison sticks her tongue out in response as she huffs and pushes herself off of the bed. She walks past Emily, intentionally brushing her body against the other girl's as she walks over towards the closet. The brunette's eyes flicker up and down as her girlfriend stands in front of the closet with her hands on her hips; she debates on just cancelling their plans and skipping straight to the night's impending activities (or the _ending_ that she has planned), but shakes those thoughts out of her mind.

" _Hmm_ ," Alison hums as she looks through her clothes. "It's cool out, right?"

"Unfortunately. It's going to get even cooler since the sun is only coming out for minutes at a time, so."

"Damn," the blonde grunts. "Okay, then," she says while she reaches into the space and pulls out a grey zip-up hoodie before walking over towards the dresser nearby.

She rummages through the drawer containing her shorts and jeans, finally deciding on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with pre-rolled ankles, turning them somewhat into capris. Next, she moves up a drawer and picks out a simple, white tank top with two buttons below the neckline.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" Alison questions with a quirked eyebrow when she sees Emily sitting on the bed.

"Once you get out, yes," the brunette responds, earning a curious glare from her girlfriend.

Alison moves to yet another drawer, picking out a bra and panties before turning back towards the girl on the bed with a pointed look.

"If you're not ready when I get out of the shower, I'm leaving without you," she warns.

"You take five times longer than me, Ali," Emily purses her lips. "You don't know where we're going anyway, remember?" she smirks devilishly.

"I've been ready before you plenty of times," Alison fights back, completely ignoring the second comment.

"Because you kept trying to undress me and I had to keep fixing myself!"

"Are you complaining?"

"Go shower," Emily turns her head and bites her lip.

"Fine," Alison playfully growls before storming out of the room, clothes in hand.

Once Emily hears her girlfriend ascend the staircase, she closes and locks the door. A small bit of light shines through the window before fading away again, making the girl roll her eyes at the shitty weather. She walks over to the drawers and picks out a pair of dark grey, tight, skinny jeans, followed by the choice of a navy blue v-neck t-shirt. The two pieces of clothing get stacked onto the dresser's surface as she walks over to the closet, quickly grabbing a red and blue thin, plaid flannel with rolled sleeves and throwing it onto the pile of already-gathered clothing items. Lastly, she bites her lip as she rummages through her own underwear drawer, finding exactly what she's looking for: black, lace panties with a matching bra that unhooks in the front.

As she unhooks her current bra and puts on the black one, she chuckles when remembering how frantic she felt when Alison had nearly seen the matching set while they were packing. The blonde couldn't remember if she had already packed something specific and, as she tried to find it, she was nearly unzipping Emily's underwear compartment just as the brunette spotted what Alison was looking for on the floor. Before unzipping the bag further, the blonde picked up whatever it was and flashed her (anxious) girlfriend a smile and walked back into the closet.

The brunette slides the other lace garment up her legs as she fixes the fabric neatly and takes a deep breath. She moves towards the dresser and picks up a bottle of body lotion before rubbing a bit of the scented cream on her arms, legs, and chest. Once finished with that, she spritzes on some of her light body spray, followed by putting on the rest of her clothes. She decides against buttoning the thin flannel and instead leaves it falling against the navy blue fabric of her t-shirt.

A few minutes of fixing her outfit so it feels perfect pass by before she slips into her Vans. She hears a knock on the door followed by the knob turning before a groan floats through the wood.

"You seriously _locked_ the door?"

Emily waltzes over and unlocks the door knob as she opens it to reveal her girlfriend who is already practically eye-fucking her. The brunette bites her bottom lip as she watches Alison take in the outfit and fresh scent, her lips slightly parting once their eyes meet. Emily tilts her head a fraction before the other girl moves closer. Alison places her palms flat against her girlfriend's shoulders, gliding them over the soft fabric and, eventually, hooking her fingers behind the girl's neck.

"And now I know why you waited for me to leave the room," Alison mumbles against Emily's mouth before catching the girl's bottom lip between her teeth, releasing it soon after.

"You smell so damn good," she scratches her nails along the back of the brunette's neck as she kisses her hard.

"Mhm," Emily hums while they continue to kiss.

"Are you sure that we have to go out?" Alison takes the other girl's lip between her teeth again.

" _Mhm_."

As Alison slides her tongue against Emily's, the brunette moves her hands under her girlfriend's hoodie and down her back, using her fingertips to partially dip underneath the waistline of Alison's jeans and underwear before dragging her nails upwards and eliciting a long moan from the girl's throat. Immediately, Emily pulls away and takes a deep, shaky breath while putting some distance between them and running a hand through her hair.

"We should get going," she says and Alison smirks when she realizes what happened.

"I suppose so," the blonde eyes her girlfriend's attire one last time as she presses her tongue against her inner cheek and turns around to head upstairs.

Emily takes another deep breath and slams her eyes shut for a moment until she begins to follow her girlfriend, watching the blonde sway her hips more than usual — likely an intentional thing (though Emily isn't complaining). They make it up the stairs to see that Hanna and Caleb have already left, but the other two remain in the kitchen, giving the couple a round of _ooh_ 's while they move towards the front door.

"Don't stay out too late, you two," CeCe comments as she wiggles her eyebrows.

"Do you have a key?" Mona checks, throwing her voice to the couple near the door.

"Yeah, I have one of the spares," Alison peeks around a wall to see into the kitchen.

"Have fun," the two sing from the kitchen, snickering since they used the exact same tone.

Alison closes the door behind her and Emily as they step onto the single front step. In no time, the brunette begins to walk down the yard's slight stone path until she passes the fence line. Alison raises an eyebrow but eventually follows.

"So, it's within walking distance?"

"Well, we couldn't take a car even if we _had_ to. Mona and CeCe are going to need it to drive to Hyannis and I am _not_ taking the RV," Emily looks backwards since the other girl hasn't caught up yet.

"Mercedes," Alison corrects once she's by Emily's side.

The brunette rolls her eyes with a chuckle, "Either way, we're going somewhere that's close by. I jogged there this morning."

"You went for a jog this morning?"

"I always do."

"No, I know that, trust me," Alison's eyes bug out as she remembers the countless mornings that she's woken up to her girlfriend rolling out of bed at the asscrack of dawn. "I just didn't realize that you went for one this morning."

"Mhm," Emily confirms as she kicks a small pebble. "It was nice, but extremely foggy."

"It's not so bad now though. I chose the perfect outfit," Alison thinks out loud before mumbling, "and so did you."

Emily smirks and side-eyes the girl walking next to her before reaching for her hand and pulling her closer. She swings their clasped hands as they take a left turn, the street gently sloping as it's ended with a rope to guide the road towards the right for another sharp turn. As they walk, a ship port comes into view. It's lined with a variety of different small boats and bigger ships bearing an assortment of names and logos. They keep walking down the now-wooden dock area and pass a few crab-boats with fishermen pulling wooden crates and big nets out of the water behind the ship. A few crabs fall out as the man mumbles a curse word or two, causing Alison to snicker and turn back towards Emily who keeps her eyes ahead.

"Is this our destination?" Alison asks with a small smile.

"Partly. I told you it's nothing big."

"It's nice though," the blonde leans her head on Emily's shoulder for a second until she finds it's extremely uncomfortable to walk in that position.

The pair passes by a small concert going on near the dock, the stage sitting pressed against a cement wall that guards the water. The tune of "Beautiful Drug" by Zac Brown Band hits their ears as they see a pretty big group of people dancing in front of the stage, some couples and some single dancers. They take another curve on the sidewalk until it continues straightforward with a bench or two at the end of the strip, facing the ocean. As they walk, a group of three younger-looking boys make a whistling sound at Alison who rolls her eyes.

"What's up, _blondie_?" one's eyes follow Alison as she walks by.

Emily wraps her arm tightly around her girlfriend's waist as she shoots a look backwards with a fierce "Grow up, creeps." When the three of them chuckle and one says, "Whatever," Emily nearly spins around and follows them. Her girlfriend, however, senses the other girl's body language and presses herself closer, rubbing her thumb along Emily's hand.

"Ignore them," she whispers when she looks towards the brunette.

"Kind of hard to."

They sit down on one of the benches and Alison slides closer, laying her hand on Emily's knee as the brunette looks down and takes a deep breath. Emily looks up, eventually, and stares off towards the ocean.

"Emily," Alison starts. "Don't do this."

"I'm fine," she tries, her words holding an unreadable tone.

"And don't lie to me."

"I'm sorry," she shakes her head. "They just pissed me off, that's all."

"Why?" Alison tilts her head in genuine curiosity.

"I don't like when people look at you like you're some piece of meat. _Anyone_. It's disgusting," Emily grimaces and clenches her fists a bit, which Alison notices.

The blonde takes her own hand and drags her fingertips along Emily's knuckles, causing her to release her firm grip and relax.

"I'll tell you a secret if you calm down," Alison says once she's turned her body more.

"Fine. I'm calm."

The other girl leans in closer, whispering, " _Territorial_ is a hot look on you."

She backs up and Emily chuckles while rolling her eyes. The two squish closer together on the bench while soft music remains playing in the background towards the other side of the dock. Seagulls gawk and pass overhead, some landing on nearby wooden logs or ship masts.

"Was this vacation everything you'd hoped for?" Emily wonders out loud.

"Mm," Alison thinks, "for the most part."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I honestly still feel bad for being such a bitch our first day here," the blonde explains. " _And_ I still haven't had you to myself yet."

"You have me right now," Emily teases.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Is that all that's been on your mind this entire vacation?" the brunette quirks an eyebrow as Alison straightens her back and sits neatly, staring ahead at the water.

"No," she confesses as she plays with Emily's fingers.

"Then what?"

Alison takes a deep breath as she turns her body to face Emily again, slightly concerning the girl next to her. She bites her lip and looks around before speaking since she, initially, doesn't exactly know how to say what she wants to.

"This whole time… and, actually, a little before we came here, I've been thinking," the blonde purses her lips and Emily's eyebrows furrow, "about a lot, really. More specifically, you."

"What about me?"

Alison struggles to find honest, heart-felt words while her mouth opens and then closes when she shakes her head.

"Okay, you've known me for quite a bit now and you know that I'm not very good with words, so bear with me," she starts.

"You've become my home, Em, and I'm so damn thankful for that. You're so warm and just…" her voice fades and she flashes a soft smile. "You're who I want to be with every time something goes wrong or every time something exciting happens."

Emily watches her girlfriend talk animatedly with soft eyes. She swallows hard when Alison continues.

"I—" the blonde takes a deep breath, "I love you, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to admit it, but the words would never come out because of the time, or fear, or my past, or—"

"I love you too," Emily interrupts the other girl's rant with her own confession. "I'm _in_ love with you."

"You—" Alison blinks a few times, not exactly expecting her girlfriend's immediate response; honestly, she pictured Emily taking a few minutes before replying whether it be positively or negatively — and, yes, she's had her doubts that Emily loves her back.

"I'm in love with you, Ali," she repeats, "and you're not the only one who's had a hard time getting the words out."

"Honestly," Alison swallows hard and lets out a shaky laugh, "it took me some time to understand that I wasn't just clinging onto you for protection. I've forgotten what love feels like, but, recently, you've helped me remember and… I'm _completely_ in love with you, Em," she continues in a whisper, "it's kind of terrifying."

"Tell me why," Emily steals Alison's hand once again and leans closer.

"I don't want you to leave."

"Why would I do that when I've told you that I won't?"

Alison looks towards the ground without giving Emily an answer; she knows that they've been pretty connected lately, and she feels much happier than she used to, but maybe there will always be a hint of doubt. Emily, sitting next to Alison, notices the silence and body language, which is when she speaks again.

"If I was going to leave, I wouldn't have just given you my entire heart, Ali," she whispers. "I love you. I really do."

The blonde turns, on instinct, and presses her lips against her girlfriend's while her hand rests on Emily's cheek, nearly ending up in the girl's lap. In Alison's mind, she knows that the entire "You just said you love me but you'll probably leave tomorrow" concept is pretty far-fetched, especially because she knows how Emily's heart operates by now, but she can't help but think it; it's been ingrained into her mind that she's incapable of being loved by anyone. She's trying, however, and all she can hope for is that Emily understands that it'll be a bumpy road for a bit longer; Alison needs to recover from years of a variety of different abuses coming from both her family and her love life. They've already made such progress, though, and the blonde knows that Emily's helped her in so many ways since she's come into her life, and she's so thankful for that.

"I love you too," Alison whispers when they break apart.

"Do you?" Emily teases and the other girl rolls her eyes.

"Yes."

"Let's go back," the brunette gives her girlfriend one last heated kiss before pushing off of the bench and pulling her along the sidewalk.

From Alison's view, Emily looks pretty determined and maybe a bit rushed, but she doesn't question it because she's not sure if the brunette has more plans for the night. In Emily's mind, she mentally scolds herself for seeming so eager, but she can't help the fact that she just wants to end up in bed with Alison _now_ — not hours later. She rolls her eyes internally when she realizes that the other girl is practically being dragged behind her because of their distances, and she instantly slows down.

"Sorry," Emily mumbles.

"Hmm?" the other girl has no idea why she's apologizing.

"Nothing," the brunette mumbles again and wants to slap herself.

The walk back to the cottage seems both longer yet shorter ( _somehow_ ), and it bothers the brunette since she's trying to take things slow, but not _that_ slow — who invented time, anyways? And why does the weather seem warmer than it had when they first left for the docks? And—

"Are you okay?" Alison's caring voice pulls Emily out of her internal monologue.

"Me?" the other girl blurts out without thinking; when and why did she turn into such a nervous wreck? "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"You seem… distant."

"No, no," Emily jumps quickly, hoping that the blonde doesn't think that she's done something wrong. "My mind just drifted."

"Where to?"

"Um," she bites her lip, "nowhere in particular," she settles on a lie — well, not a _complete_ lie; her mind keeps bouncing back and forth, but between two specific thoughts: keeping a slow pace or going all in — _quickly_.

"Mhm," Alison only partly believes it, but doesn't ask any more questions; truthfully, she can peg a good guess as to what's on the other girl's mind since she hasn't been all that subtle since before they even left.

They soon reach the cottage's front door after passing its now-empty driveway (aside from Mercedes, of course). The time reads 7:17 P.M. and the street looks like the sun has already set due to the thick clouds. Alison reaches into her hoodie's pocket to pull out the keys, slowly taking the tagged piece of metal and sliding it into the keyhole. Emily looks around the front yard as she waits to hear the click of the handle, followed by the sound of Alison pushing the door open.

"You know," the blonde suddenly turns around and blocks the doorway, "maybe we should just sit outside and enjoy the rest of the night," she wears a smirk that grows when her girlfriend's eyes narrow.

"Really?" Emily forces a smile and speaks through her teeth. "I thought you'd like to spend the night in."

" _Hmm_ ," Alison hums as she pretends she's thinking, leaning against the door's frame and not letting her girlfriend pass. "I'm not so sure… I mean, you've made _me_ wait this entire vacation. Who's to say you can't wait a few more hours?"

Emily's eyes slightly widen when she realizes that Alison knows her better than she first thought — that, _or_ the brunette's thoughts aren't as quiet as she imagined.

"What's wrong?" the blonde takes a step forward, her chin tilted down slightly as she peers up through her eyelashes.

Her voice is sweet, but Emily knows it's only because she's aware that she's winning.

"Don't want to wait anymore?" she whispers with that same smirk.

Instead of replying, Emily pushes both her and Alison through the door before twisting around to shut and lock it behind them. After, she turns back to face the blonde, only to find her trying to make it down the spiral staircase quickly. Emily rolls her eyes at the entire situation before hastily following the other girl, making it down the staircase and jogging across the short hallway to find their bedroom door closed. She jiggles the knob and finds that it's unlocked, however realizes that the other girl is likely leaned up against the other side of the door since it won't open easily.

Emily pushes with a bit more force and hears a small laugh on the other side.

"Really, Ali?"

"What? Can you not get inside?" she continues to laugh.

With that, the brunette pushes harder and, much to Alison's displeasure (which is noticeable due to her struggling), she makes it inside to see the blonde biting her lip, her top shed of the hoodie from before. Emily enters and pushes the door shut, however doesn't latch it.

"What took you so long?" she teases.

Again, Emily doesn't reply, however responds by closing the distance between them and pulling Alison closer by her hips. She kisses the other girl hard, all sense of pace being lost due to Alison's excessive and constant teasing. Their tongues meet and the blonde lets out a strangled whimper as she turns their bodies so her back is facing the door. Alison dots sloppy kisses down her girlfriend's jaw and neck while she grasps at Emily's flannel shirt to keep their bodies close. Without warning, Alison backs up slowly, slightly turns around, and opens the door to run away again, expecting the other girl to be in a daze. Unfortunately for Alison (or is it _really_ unfortunate?), Emily knows the blonde just as well, wrapping an arm around the girl's stomach and slamming the door shut in front of her before hitting the lock on the doorknob. She doesn't give Alison the chance to turn around and face her again. Instead, she presses her own body against her girlfriend's back while nibbling on her neck and shoulder area, moving them closer to the door.

" _Fuck_ ," Alison groans while tilting her head a bit, her right arm flying to the door so she can hold herself up by pressing her forearm against the wood.

The blonde's other hand moves to the back of her girlfriend's head, her fingers tangling in Emily's soft hair. At the same time, Emily pushes her body against Alison's back even further, now completely meshed together as the brunette's left hand moves to the door in order to help hold them up, continuing to suck on the skin of Alison's neck and pulse point. Emily's other hand, meanwhile, slides down her girlfriend's front, traveling down one of her thighs before coming back up and resting between her legs. The brunette creates a bit more pressure and slight back-and-forth friction with that hand, eliciting another strangled whimper from the girl in front of her.

"Aren't you happy that you tried to escape again?" Emily whispers as she continues, a taunting tone laced within her words, and Alison's breathing picks up a fraction before a small laugh falls from her lips.

"I—" she tries, though the words get lost when the brunette lifts her hand higher and curls her fingers a bit, creating three times the pressure through the jean fabric.

When Emily continues, Alison's hips partly buck on instinct until she backs her ass up further into her girlfriend who leans over the blonde's now-bent frame. Suddenly, when Emily speeds up her movements, Alison's right hand leaves the door and shakily glides down Emily's forearm before it reaches the hand between her legs, her nails digging into the girl's tanned skin as she continues her ministrations. Alison lets out a sharp moan when Emily applies more pressure with both her hand and her mouth, the girl's teeth slightly biting into the blonde's skin. The brunette uses the tip of her tongue as she makes her way from the corner of Alison's jaw, down to just above her collarbone area before placing a few open-mouthed kisses to the sensitive skin. In response, Alison tilts her head backwards and releases a very shaky breath.

After another minute of extreme teasing, the blonde musters up some strength and pushes them both off of the door so she can turn around and shove her girlfriend onto the bed behind them. She quickly climbs atop Emily who is kicking the covers down towards the edge of the bed, pinning the girl's arms above her head as they begin to kiss again while Alison continues to let out a moan here and there from Emily's previous handiwork. She helps the brunette shrug out of the flannel shirt and, without wasting any time, pulls Emily's v-neck over her head. Her mouth goes dry when she sees her girlfriend's black, lace bra, earning a shy smirk from the girl pinned below her. Instead of saying anything (because, really, she can't voice any of her thoughts right now), Alison leans down again and captures the other girl's lips with her own as her left hand roams down Emily's body.

Meanwhile, Emily manages to break her wrists free from Alison's half-hold only to use the opportunity to peel off the blonde's white tank top, revealing a silver and white, partially-laced bra. Once that's done, she slowly moves her hands to the button and zipper of Alison's jeans, successfully undoing both as she pushes the garment down as low as she can while the blonde continously teases Emily's tongue with her own and drags her nails along the brunette's side. Deciding against the idea of keeping her jeans on to torture Emily with the fabricated barrier, Alison shimmies out of the garment on her own before straddling one of the girl's thighs with her panties still on, boldly grinding down on Emily's own tight jeans and creating an already-mounting buildup of friction. With a groan, Alison regains Emily's now-wandering hands and pins her wrists down above her head with one hand, using the other to cup the brunette's breast.

The girl beneath flexes her thigh as she bends her leg a little, causing Alison to tilt farther forward and end up with her neck completely exposed to the girl lying against the mattress. Emily smirks, though the entire thing was unplanned, before craning her own neck upwards and capturing Alison's soft skin between her teeth gently. She lets go before soothing the same patch of skin with her tongue, eventually dragging the back of it down the length of the blonde's neck and chest (with the _obvious_ occasional biting and sucking) while she feels the girl's hips buck harder, pressing down with more force as constant moans fill the room's previous silence. Alison's nails dig into Emily's wrist before her other hand — that had been grasping onto the brunette's chest — flies to hold onto the sheets near the girl's pinned hands.

Emily feels a slight dampness on her leg while the girl above her continues to shift her body and rock back and forth, trying to gain even more friction and pressure. In order to send Alison over the edge (and not caring about how fast it's happened), she bends her leg even more as she tilts her mouth upwards towards the blonde's ear while the already-shaking girl digs her nails further into her tanned skin. In response, Emily lets out a long, deep moan into Alison's ear and the blonde unravels with a chain of whimpers and gasps as her body slows down and presses against the girl beneath her. Her heart beats heavily and she's a bit annoyed that the other girl allowed her to finish so early, but doesn't care; she simply forces herself to continue and make the rest of the night about the brunette.

Alison releases the other girl's hands so she can sit up between her legs as she flicks the buckle in between Emily's boobs in order to remove the garment. The brunette lifts half of her torso to shed herself of each strap, placing her hands over her own breasts afterwards. Alison's chest rises and falls heavily as she lays her hands over Emily's, squeezing the skin beneath to elicit a strangled moan. Alison grasps them a bit harder before pushing the other girl's hands away. She leans over Emily's body and begins to place kisses along her neck, sternum, and upper stomach — straight down the middle of the girl's torso. While Alison kisses her way back upwards, she takes her time flicking her thumbs across Emily's piercings, earning a few gasps in response. The blonde smirks against her girlfriend's skin when she hears the reaction, moving her lips over towards one nipple and teasing it with her tongue while the girl trapped underneath brings her own hand up to her mouth in order to bite down on something.

Alison's eyes flicker towards the girl who has her eyes sealed shut and mouth covered. She removes her mouth from Emily's skin as she presses her tongue against her inner cheek, using her hands to pin the brunette's down against the mattress once again, this time at her sides. When Emily groans, Alison leans down again, tending to the other side of the girl's chest. The blonde does a specific tongue motion that had earned a large response the last few times and, to no surprise, she elicits the same reaction: Emily's torso arching off of the bed as she goes to moan but only the ending can be heard — otherwise, it comes out as a strangled gasp.

"Ali," the brunette chokes out when her girlfriend doesn't relent.

At that, Alison finally works her way upwards, pressing open-mouthed kisses along Emily's jaw and pulse point. Meanwhile, her hands let go of the other girl's as they fumble for the button and zipper of the brunette's jeans. Successfully undoing them, the garment's waistline becomes looser as she shoves them down with one hand. Emily assists in kicking them the rest of the way off after they bunch around her knees, creating an annoying restriction before they fall to the floor.

Realizing that Emily's jeans are finally discarded, Alison trickles her fingertips downward, her face backing up from her girlfriend's lips for a moment in order to watch her body's reaction to the light sensation. She looks down to see Emily's matching underwear, her mouth becoming dry all over again. As her fingertips reach the fabric's edge, Alison hears her girlfriend suck in a sharp breath when the movement completely stops — her eyes are still slammed shut and her chin is tilted upwards. Alison internally debates on whether or not she should try and work around the pretty piece of clothing, but that idea is quickly thrown out the window because, let's face it, everything will end up on the floor eventually, anyway. With one hand, she pulls the other girl's panties down her thighs and then ankles until they hit the floor somewhere.

Resuming her position from before, Alison straddles one of Emily's thighs, pushing the girl's legs wide open with her own thigh while the brunette uses her feet to bring the covers over the back of Alison's legs. The blonde gets the hint — almost straight away — and pulls the comforter to reach over her back and half of Emily's torso. Emily takes in another shaky breath when she suddenly feels her girlfriend's hand land on her ribs while she receives a small nip on her neck.

"I've missed you so much," Alison whispers while _really_ looking at the girl struggling to control her breathing.

"I've missed you too," Emily finds the strength to respond, because it's true; they've been together this whole time, however not in _this_ way and, currently, they're being reminded of the time since they've last been together like this. It hasn't been _that_ long, really, but it seems much longer due to their fast-paced and energetic libidos. On top of that, tonight marks a milestone for them: the first time they'll be able to exchange _I love you_ 's after making love. Honestly, if you'd ask either one of them, they'd confess that it brings a whole new satisfaction upon the activity and, well, it's nice — it's _comforting_.

Alison's hand starts to slide down excruciatingly slow, earning a breathy "Fuck" when the blonde decides to drag her nails up Emily's inner thigh, followed by one, lone swipe along her center which makes the girl's body shudder immediately. A few seconds later, another finger slowly drags along her center with a single motion, causing one of her hands to fly to the sheets aside her head.

" _Please_ , Alison," Emily's voice comes out extremely hoarse and Alison softly smiles when she sees the affect that she's had on her girlfriend.

"Hmm?" Alison questions with a hum before planting a kiss on the corner of the brunette's lips.

"F—" the words die and a moan comes out instead, being the result from another pressure-filled swipe along her folds.

"Ali," she gets out through her teeth.

"Tell me what you want, baby," the blonde licks her own lips as she tilts her head and watches the other girl's body jerk with every motion of her fingers.

"Fuck me," Emily breathes out, though her voice sounds choked up and it's more like a severe plea because, really, she doesn't even care if it's not the sweetest demand; she just wants Alison — now.

Alison presses another kiss to Emily's bottom lip, nodding her head gently while her fingers dive in further, alternating pressures, speeds, and depth. The brunette's body reacts in different ways to each combination, sometimes more and sometimes less — a few times with loud moans and others with tiny whimpers that make Alison's heart race faster. The blonde pushes a single digit into her girlfriend, earning a sudden gasp as her eyebrows furrow and chin tilts upwards. Alison hears Emily clench the sheets near her head harder once she plunges another finger in. She removes them soon after and continues to angle her hand so she can cover more area, brushing part of her palm against Emily's clit, probably causing the biggest reaction.

"Oh my God," the brunette bites her own bottom lip as Alison watches her facial expression with so much love and admiration. " _Fuck_ ," the groan comes out when the blonde speeds up even more, using the entire surface of one of her fingers to swipe upwards at a rocking angle.

"Let go, baby," Alison whispers as she leans down and places a gentle kiss below Emily's ear.

In order to finish her girlfriend off, Alison shifts her thigh and uses it to create more movement, almost instantly causing Emily's heavy crash. The brunette's body gains a massive amount of heat once her climax hits, her legs feeling like jelly when Alison doesn't stop her hand's movements. Emily's moans continue when the blonde decides to toy with her girlfriend for a bit longer, dragging her finger up and down slowly, causing the girl beneath her to twitch and gasp.

"Stop it," Emily grits her teeth, feeling warmer in her core than a few seconds ago.

Alison smirks and pulls her hand away, bringing her fingers to her lips in order to taste her girlfriend. Their eyes meet while she continues swirling her tongue around until Emily leans her head back onto the mattress and lets out a long sigh. Her chest has a steady rise and fall rhythm as she lies there, finally releasing her grip on the sheets. Once Alison finishes tasting her girlfriend on her fingers, she straddles Emily who remains breathing heavily. When she isn't comfortable with her own panties still on, she grunts, rolls over, and kicks them off with ease. Resuming her position and placing her palms on Emily's chest, she smiles softly.

"Hi," Alison's voice is almost inaudible.

Emily returns the smile, "Hi there."

Neither wanting to break the night's tempo, Emily cranes her neck upwards and Alison bows her head to meet her lips. The blonde backs her girlfriend's head back down onto the sheets as she remains straddling her lower torso. Their fingers intertwine on the sides of Emily's head, also pressed against the mattress before the brunette slips her fingers away, sliding her hands towards the buckle of Alison's bra and undoing it with ease. The straps slide down her soft skin, mutually throwing the garment onto the ground. Alison's hands make their way towards Emily's jaw, gently cupping her face as they kiss harder than before. When they part for a second or two, Alison rubs her thumb along Emily's bottom lip gently, earning a small kiss on the pad of her finger. Soon, their lips reconnect again and, after some time, Alison's hips begin to roll, creating a wet path along Emily's lower stomach.

With the desire to pay more attention to the girl currently above her, Emily attempts to flip them over, but is forcefully shoved back down onto the bed by Alison who narrows her eyes dangerously.

"No," she shakes her head gently before the corner of her lip twitches into a tiny smirk, "you're staying below me all night."

In response, Emily attempts to flip them over again, however her weak body isn't allowing her to successfully do so anytime soon. She huffs, earning a chuckle from the girl above her. They make eye contact for quite some time before Emily suddenly pushes her lower torso upwards, creating a big spike in pressure that extracts a large moan from Alison. Without warning, Emily shimmies down against the mattress as the blonde swallows hard and remains in her straddling position, too stunned to move when her girlfriend starts kissing at her thighs. The comforter falls down Alison's back and the sensation tickles before the cool air hits her skin and creates even more goosebumps.

The blonde doesn't know what to do in this situation since she's never exactly thought of this position; honestly, she figured she'd keep Emily pinned down all night, never allowing the other girl to taste her. However, in this moment, that's all lost when the brunette leans up and swipes the surface of her tongue along Alison's folds. In response, the blonde immediately grabs onto the white-washed wooden headboard, making sure to keep her knees as steady as she can.

Emily starts going faster, sometimes backing her head up so she can place sloppy kisses on Alison's inner thighs. Moans fall quickly from the other girl's lips as she turns her head to bite her own upper arm, this position becoming too much to handle all too soon. Her nails dig into the headboard as her hips buck a fraction, though it doesn't create much friction due to the mixture of fluids down below.

"Emily," her voice is a complete whimper before she resumes biting her arm.

When the brunette swipes her tongue upwards again, her arms also clamp down around Alison's thighs, jerking them forwards every now and then when she figures out that it's something that causes a big reaction. Emily does it once again, dragging the full width of her tongue upwards before swirling around her girlfriend's most sensitive area, and one of Alison's hands drop from the headboard as it lands on the mattress and gathers a fistful of sheets.

"I—" Alison's voice dies before it comes back in a raspy moan, "I can't—"

Sensing Alison's frustration, Emily uses the same technique that always sends her girlfriend over the edge: she presses further while moving her tongue in a quick motion, alternating between swipes and gentle sucking. Much to her succession, the blonde unravels with a loud and elongated "Fuck" as her knees shake slightly, though she manages to hold herself up as Emily places two last pecks to the girl's thighs before sliding back upwards so Alison can collapse onto her. It takes a few extra seconds for Emily to shimmy up the sheets due to the sweat along her back, but she manages just in time for Alison to roll partly off of her and bury her flushed face into her girlfriend's neck. Emily wraps her arm around the other girl whose hot breath continuously hits her neck, drawing out more desire to have her girlfriend _again_.

" _Shit_ ," Alison breathes out, referring to what her girlfriend had just done. "I thought I was going to collapse," she chuckles softly, her voice being muffled by Emily's neck.

"What a way to go out, that would be," Emily teases and Alison jabs at her side.

The blonde leans up on an elbow to look at her girlfriend again. She takes Emily's other hand and plays with her fingers before leaning in and stealing a kiss, tasting herself on the other girl's lips and tongue. When she backs up, Emily gives her a big smile out of nowhere, causing Alison to mirror it.

"I love you," Alison genuinely confesses as she brings her hand up to stroke Emily's cheekbone.

"I love you too, Ali," Emily leans over again and their lips regain the heat from before.

This time, the blonde actually allows her girlfriend to roll them over as the comforter gets slightly tangled when their positions get flipped. Emily bites her way down Alison's chest, earning little gasps if she does it too hard. When she brings her lips back to Alison's, Emily whispers, "Don't think I'm done with you," which, in turn, is enough to pull a moan from the blonde who kisses her girlfriend hard, the room's atmosphere growing thicker than before.

X X X

Alison rolls out of bed around 11 P.M., leaving her naked girlfriend covered with the bed's comforter as she watches the blonde's body.

"Come back to bed, baby, _please_ ," Emily reaches towards the other girl who pulls a pair of loose, grey shorts up her legs.

"I'll just be a minute. I'm hungry," Alison drawls. "For _food_ , so don't even comment."

The brunette chuckles and brings a pillow near her body so she can cuddle it while Alison heads upstairs to get a snack. After a few more rounds of orgasms, sweat, and friction, the two had slowed down tremendously, not even having the energy to _try_ and go again — not right now, anyway. Both of their bodies currently feel like they're non-existent, really, and it's pretty satisfying yet kind of annoying — to Alison, at least, who is having a problem walking around quickly.

Alison pulls her bra back on so she can cover up a bit before she throws Emily's flannel over the silver fabric. The girl on the bed hums at the sight of her clothes being worn by her beautiful girlfriend, earning a shy smile from Alison who walks over to the bed.

"I'll be right back, okay? Rest a little," she instructs with a whisper before pecking Emily on the lips and walking out of the room.

She doesn't bother buttoning the flannel because, honestly, she doesn't really care who sees her right now; she's too sky-high to care or, maybe, even love-drunk. She ascends the spiral staircase and ends up in the kitchen as she makes sure the grey shorts cover everything, just in case. They do, thankfully, and she walks along the cool tile floor with her bare feet as she makes her way into the bathroom first, relieving herself before she heads into the kitchen. The living room's TV can be heard and, for a moment, Alison figures that someone had fallen asleep on the couch while watching — that is, until she hears CeCe's voice float into the kitchen while she rummages through the cabinets.

"Taking a break, I see," she comments and Alison can only imagine her expression.

Alison grabs a bag of cookies out of the cabinet and a water from the fridge before sashaying into the living room where CeCe, Mona, Hanna, and Caleb all sit in front of the TV. On one side of the room, CeCe and Mona sit next to each other as they actually pay attention to the TV, whereas Hanna sits on Caleb's lap in the corner as they play a game on his phone. Everyone is fully awake, and they've clearly been hanging out for a while. If Alison hadn't just been in bed with her girlfriend for the last several hours, she'd be pretty jealous that she wasn't invited to this little party, but, realistically, she doesn't care right now.

"Having a nice night?" Mona questions, though it's pretty obvious and that's why CeCe and Hanna both snicker nearby.

Alison closes the flannel a bit just because Caleb is sitting right there, however doesn't bother doing much else since she's been in a bikini for ninety percent of this vacation. She nibbles on a cookie while humming, " _Mhm_."

"I can see that," CeCe nods towards the various hickies, scratches, and bite marks dotted down her neck, chest, and stomach.

"Wow, I'd love to see the marks on her," Mona adds when she sees the redness.

Suddenly, Alison feels a bit more shy and closes the flannel a little more as she nods with a cookie in her mouth. She swallows the food and forces a smile, earning a snicker from both Mona and CeCe when they see her rosy cheeks.

Hanna, however, wears a huge smirk as she says, "Go Emily."

" _Please_ , Alison, don't forget to wash the sheets tomorrow morning," Mona pleads with a pointed look, earning an eye-roll.

"Alright," Alison breathes out. "She's waiting for some water and I should probably go back down," she walks back towards the stairs.

"TMI, Kiddo," CeCe calls after her with a laugh.

"Have fun with round two, Ali-cat," Mona teases along with CeCe.

"Already finished," Alison fires back as she stands on one of the middle steps, smirking when she hears an _ooh_ and two _ew_ 's.

She reaches the bottom step and turns towards the bedroom, walking down the short hallway while munching on another cookie. Alison opens the door to see her girlfriend in the same position, her tan skin exposed completely as the sheet bunches up over her breasts. Her eyes are closed, but they flutter open when she hears Alison walking back into the room and latching the door.

"Here you go," Alison says in a cute tone as she hands the water bottle out for her girlfriend to take.

"Thank you," comes the reply with a hoarse voice.

"You don't sound too good," the blonde chuckles gently as she sits on the bed across from the other girl.

Emily rolls her eyes and takes a sip of water before putting the cap back on and placing it onto the small side table. Alison hands her a cookie which she happily takes, groaning when taking a bite. The blonde eyes her carefully, an eyebrow quirked at the sound, before she goes back to eating her own cookie.

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow," Emily sighs.

"I can't believe you made me wait until the last day to have sex with you," the blonde reminds, obviously having a one-track mind at the moment.

"Was it worth the wait?" the other girl questions seductively, leaning closer once she's finished eating.

"Always," Alison whispers before giving her a quick peck on the lips and sitting back again, finishing up her own food.

Emily lies back on the pillows, comforter lingering only on her bottom half, as she watches her girlfriend put the cookie bag on the table where the water bottle sits. After, Alison sheds herself of Emily's flannel, her shorts, and bra so she can lay comfortably (in the correct after-sex attire) with her girlfriend. The brunette's eyes flicker down to Alison's chest, noting the marks strewn across her skin as she laughs quietly at herself.

"What's so funny?" Alison asks as she drapes her body over the other girl's, planting a kiss on her cheek beforehand.

"The, um," she chuckles again, "marks on your front-side. They're all over."

"Oh, yeah," Alison buries her head into Emily's neck. "The others got a kick out of that when I was upstairs."

"They're awake?" Emily's eyebrows furrow.

"Very awake. They're all watching TV and teasing the hell out of me."

"Do you want to go spend time with them?"

"No, I'd rather stay here with you," Alison's voice fades a little.

"Okay, so we'll stay here," Emily whispers as she kisses the top of Alison's head.

"Thank you," the blonde mumbles after a second.

"For what? If you thank me for having sex with you, I'm leaving right now," Emily states bluntly and Alison buries her face further into the girl's neck while trying to not laugh too hard.

"No," she shakes her head once her laughter dies down. "Thank you for always taking care of me."

"Always," Emily whispers back.

In response, Alison lifts her chin and they kiss deeply, her hand coming up to caress Emily's jaw while they, once again, get lost in each other.

The perfect end to a relaxing (well, for the most part) vacation, they think, and it's not because of what happened tonight, but because of who they did everything with. Not just _tonight_ , actually; their entire stay at the cottage turned out to be unforgettable. New friends were made and two family members even met up unknowingly, which was a memory all in its own light. It was great, really, even though some unfortunate things popped up out of nowhere — but that could happen on any day, at any moment. Overall, everyone will miss this place, but maybe these three nights have marked the beginning of a new tradition — a _family_ tradition.

* * *

 ***Advertisement voice* And Emily's outfit is brought to you (mostly) by 7x02 of Pretty Little Liars.**

 **Side notes: You want teasing banter? I'll give you teasing banter, damn it. ("Is that a threat or a promise?" It's both, really). — If you want more jealousy on Emily's end then, don't worry, I'm not finished with that trait just yet, but I can't promise that it won't get messy. — Now, I know I'm not the only one who loves the concept of Alison wearing Emily's clothes, and I'm ecstatic that I found a spot for it, so you're welcome to whoever finds that #aesthetic.**

 **I'm sure you want to discuss this whole "I love you" business, so, here we are. I really hope I did the exchange justice even though I, personally, feel like it's hard to match writing with the weight of those three words, especially when it comes to this fragile Alison and this past-stained Emily. — After that, how about the babbling Emily? The whole "Who invited time, anyways?" dialogue wasn't initially planned; honestly, I just kept typing and I have no idea how it ended up there, but I decided to keep it.**

 **[Slight spoilers for next chapter]: This marks the ending night of their vacation. Sad face, I know, but we'll see them say goodbye, and then Mercedes will bring them home. Okay, Ch 15 is where shit starts crumbling again and, I'll warn you now, it's pretty emotional for both of them. If this was Freeform, Ch 15's hashtag would be "Alison's Story," so, yes, you're getting most (if not all) of the answers on Wednesday. Additionally, Ch 15's ending author's note will have some sneak peek dialogue (and a summary) from my new story. Skip it if you don't like spoilers, but I promise that it'll be angsty.**

 **For now, I'm going to continue working on the new story while school starts for me (and not-so-coincidentally I'm studying astronomy this semester). I hope everyone has a nice few days before I see you again on Wednesday.**

 **P.S. If anyone could direct me to the nearest "Days until PLL comes back" countdown, that'd be superb. I'm so impatient, I swear.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: Anyone see that I added a new "fic" to my page? It's just a collection of one-shots (though there's only one there right now), and I'm probably going to add to it from time to time whenever I feel inspired to write a thousand words or so based upon some random scenario or an actually on-screen moment. It's called "What If (This Happened)?" for those who haven't followed/favorited/seen it yet.**

 **Did anyone watch the Harry Potter movie marathon on Freeform over the weekend? I did!**

 **Anyone who is looking for a "Days until PLL" countdown, I put a "PLL comes back in April '17" countdown on my Tumblr page ("capn-charlie"). It only counts down until April 1st because we don't know the specific premiere date yet, but it's good enough. I'll try to keep it up there (and hopefully I won't have technical issues)!**

 **Back to this story… Today's sneak peek day! (And, obviously, emotional-chapter day).**

 **# Alison's Story**

 **This one hit me right in the throat, honestly, but I'm happy to say that, after this… Alison and Emily will have much happier chapters (starting next update).**

 **Read well and stay tuned for a really-fkn-long note at the bottom since I have to talk about this chapter AND my newest story. (Tbh, this chapter is only 7.3K words, so, as you can see, the author's notes take up a lot. My apologies).**

* * *

"Are your beds all made?" Mona shouts from the kitchen, packing up the uneaten food items from both the fridge and cabinets.

"Ours is," Caleb walks into the kitchen, Hanna in tow.

"Working on it," CeCe yells from the third level as the others hear a few scuffles and an "Oh, damn it."

Mona walks towards the spiral staircase in the corner and shouts, "What about you two?" to Emily and Alison who had spent most of the morning packing and doing laundry.

When there's no immediate answer, the dark-haired girl huffs and raises her voice again.

"I swear to God, you guys better not be fucking again because we leave in," she cranes her neck to see the wall-clock, "twenty-five minutes."

"Calm the hell down," Alison starts ascending the staircase to come face-to-face with an impatient Mona. "The bed is made, the floor is vacuumed, and Emily is packing our shit."

"Why couldn't you pack our stuff alone?" Hanna pouts at Caleb who snickers.

The entire morning had been pretty hectic in general. First, once everyone had woken up, quick breakfasts were eaten (such as Pop-Tarts, toast, and snack-bars), and then they all departed to clean whatever messes they had made during their stay. Emily and Alison, obviously, were instructed (or _forced_ ) to wash their bed sheets ASAP, earning a _"So, you're assuming that Em and I were the only ones to have sex during this vacation?"_ from Alison, causing all heads to turn towards Hanna and Caleb — except for Emily, since she didn't _want_ to know the answer. Needless to say, it was suggested that everyone should throw their sheets into the washer periodically so no one would be singled out. Next, Emily pulled out the house's vacuum, only to give Alison an exaggerated lesson on how to use it; _"See here… you flip this switch and, oh, look at that… it turns on, and, woah, you push it along the floor. Magic, I tell you."_ The brunette received a few jabs to the backside for the sarcastic teasing.

"Alright, I'm done," the tallest blonde bounds her way down the stairs. "Need help with anything?" she directs at Mona who is pursing her lips and looking around the open space.

"Not really," she drawls, "unless you want to start piling things into Mercedes."

CeCe groans, "Okay, fine."

Mona flashes a grateful smile towards the other girl who now lugs a few suitcases out the front door. As she checks to make sure that she has everything, everyone turns their head towards a noisy Emily who is struggling to walk up the stairs with three large bags. Once she finally reaches the landing, she huffs and shoots a look in her girlfriend's direction.

"Don't give me that look, Em. I didn't tell you that you had to bring up three bags in one trip," she raises an eyebrow and gives her a tight-lipped smile.

"Next time we come here, I'm packing our things and you're not allowed to add anything."

"No way," Alison shakes her head quickly. "Had I let that happen _this_ time, we would've been at least three outfits short."

Emily rolls her eyes while Hanna and Caleb both laugh at the bickering couple. The brunette shoots her best friend a look, making her tuck her bottom lip in between her teeth in order to stop giggling.

"What are you laughing at?" Emily finally asks the other girl.

"She's right," Hanna nods towards Alison and Emily's girlfriend bats her eyelashes with a smirk plastered across her face.

"Nothing new there," Alison walks past Emily who, at some point, made her way into the kitchen area.

Once Emily places their bags near the front door, she makes her way back downstairs to gather the rest of their things, double and triple-checking to make sure that they've packed everything. When the brunette confirms that everything is all set, she takes one last look at the room before dragging the few leftover bags upstairs, and dropping them onto the floor where the other luggage sits.

CeCe walks back in, groaning when she sees more bags, causing Emily to mutter a small "Sorry" as she walks back into the kitchen. The tallest blonde takes a few more minutes to put everything into the RV, though it takes less time since Caleb and Mona begin to help after a bit. The three wander back inside, do a quick walk-through to check out every room, and gather in the kitchen with the rest.

"Time to say goodbye to the beach, everyone," Mona clasps her hands together and gives them a sad nod.

A few pouts and _no_ 's flow throughout the group as they all file down the back porch's stairs. They walk through the backyard, descend the rickety beach steps, and end up on soft sand. Caleb takes Hanna down to the water one last time while the rest follow after a few more seconds. There are multiple phrases thrown around such as "I don't want to leave" and "Do we really _have_ to?" once Mona calls out, "It's time to go!"

Reluctantly, the crew walks back towards the wooden stairs except for Hanna who lingers near the water. She whispers a quick "I'll catch up" to Caleb who hastily walks away to follow the others. Upon seeing Hanna standing near the crashing waves, Emily also mutters a soft "I'll be right there" to her girlfriend before making her way back towards the shore, walking up beside her best friend. They stand there for a few beats, silently listening to the harsh _woosh_ of each curled wave, just staring off into the distance.

"What's up, Han?" Emily breaks the silence, stealing a quick glance at the blonde before staring back towards the ocean.

"Nothing," Hanna sighs deeply and Emily can't tell if she's happy or sad. "Just thinking about the last few days, really."

"It's been fun," the brunette nods to both herself and the girl next to her.

"So much fun," Hanna agrees. "I want to thank you for inviting me," she continues after looking at Emily for the first time.

"Mona invited you."

"No, I know," the blonde shakes her head, "but you could have told her that you just wanted to spend time with her, CeCe, and Alison. You know… like a little family thing?"

"Hanna, you _are_ my family. You always have been and always will be."

The other girl shifts closer, hinting to Emily that she wants to be held for a second or two. The brunette realizes this immediately (due to the _many_ times she's done it), and wraps an arm around Hanna's shoulders, the blonde resting her sideways.

"Do you love Alison?" she asks suddenly and Emily's eyebrows furrow. "Just an observation, honestly," Hanna explains when she can practically feel the brunette's questions forming.

"I do."

"Did you tell her that?"

"I did," Emily softly smiles when she remembers how much Hanna actually knows her.

"And what did she say?" the other girl side-eyes Emily carefully.

"She actually said it first. I was too nervous."

"Really?" Hanna lifts her head quickly with a big smile. "I'm so happy for you two."

The blonde gives the other girl a huge bear hug before releasing her grip and speaking again.

"Thank God you love her because I do too," she partially squeaks. "Well, not in that way, of course."

"I'll have to tell her," Emily chuckles when Hanna lays her head back down.

"You better, Fields. And you better tell her that I never approve of _anyone_ , so it's special."

"Noted," the brunette smirks and Hanna jabs at her side.

The two girls sigh at the same moment before chuckling — again, mirroring one another. Emily unwraps her arm from around Hanna and breathes out a regretful "Come on, the others are waiting" as she pulls the other girl towards the beach stairs.

"By the way," Hanna speaks when they're walking up to the backyard, "you two weren't all that quiet when Caleb and I got back to the house. We walked in to see CeCe and Mona giving us apologetic looks."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," the brunette's cheeks turn red instantly.

"Don't be sorry," Hanna says in a teasing tone. "I was just happy you two were—"

"New topic," Emily interrupts, not too keen on discussing her sex life with Hanna — or _anyone_.

"I'm surprised it took you two until yesterday to—"

" _Han-na_ ," the other girl stresses both syllables and the blonde finally shuts up, chuckling as they make their way into the kitchen again.

The other group members stand in front of the cottage in a small huddle, just looking around and making small conversation as Hanna and Emily emerge from the front door.

"Took you long enough," Mona huffs as she speed-walks back towards the front door and locks it. "Does everyone have everything? Tell me before I put the key away."

"We're good," Caleb nods towards the other girl as he rummages through his car's trunk, checking to make sure Hanna's multiple bags are fully packed.

"Same," CeCe, Alison, and Emily speak at the same time.

"Okay, then, let's go," Mona walks towards the RV, "we're already late."

"We're on a timed schedule?" CeCe snickers and Mona whips around to point a finger in her direction.

The girl puts her hands up in surrender before Mona shakes her head in remembrance.

"Han, you're going home with Caleb, aren't you?" she frowns as she walks over to Hanna and gives her a big hug.

"Yeah, I am," Hanna pouts once Mona releases her.

"We'll miss you," the dark-haired girl mirrors her pout as she takes a step back so Hanna can hug everyone else.

"Have a nice ride home," CeCe is second to hug Hanna.

"You too," Hanna smiles once CeCe moves over to hug Caleb after Mona is finished.

Over this vacation, she's become quite fond of the taller girl. They're pretty similar, actually, aside from the fact that CeCe's humor is drier than Hanna's and Hanna has a more bubbly personality. Otherwise, they share that same blunt aspect and a lot of the same interests.

"I'm happy you came, Hanna," Alison is next. "We'll have to get together sometime soon."

"I'd love that, Ali," Hanna squeezes her when they hug, earning a chuckle from Emily who is standing somewhere nearby. "Don't let Emily be too much of an ass while I'm not around."

"Hey!" the brunette looks dumbfounded.

"I won't," Alison smirks as she shoots an innocent look towards her girlfriend.

Alison backs up and moves to hug Caleb, not-so-quietly whispering, "We'll have to exchange more Hanna and Emily stories next time," once they're in an embrace. Hanna and Emily both roll their eyes nearby before facing one another again.

Mona notifies them that she and CeCe will be in the RV waiting, and Alison moves to Emily's side while Hanna hugs her tightly.

"Don't forget about me," Hanna mutters.

"We _just_ had this conversation, Han. I won't. You don't live that far, anyway."

"I know, but still. I'll miss you."

"Call me whenever," Emily releases the other girl.

Alison breathes out a small laugh nearby, remembering the few times when Hanna had called just as they were about to, well, "get into bed"; Emily wasn't the happiest camper.

"Count on it," Hanna responds before Caleb opens the passenger door for his girlfriend.

He closes it once she's inside and, immediately afterwards, steps up to finish his round of hugs with Emily.

"Thanks for coming," Emily smiles at him.

"I had a great time," he responds with a matching smile.

"Drive safely," Emily speaks in a protective tone, her eyes momentarily flickering to her best friend who scrolls through her phone in the front seat.

"I always do," Caleb gives her a head nod before rounding the vehicle and sliding into the driver's seat.

The car drives off as Hanna waves at the couple who remains standing on the front lawn. They stay there for a moment, getting lost in thought before a loud honk sounds from nearby.

"It's time to go," Alison speaks softly as she takes her girlfriend's hand and drags her into the RV.

They get situated quickly while Mona checks everything upfront to make sure they'll end up home in one piece. Everything is perfect, much to her pleasure, and she speaks into the intercom.

"We're homeward bound now. Sit tight."

Emily and Alison reclaim their couch from the first ride with CeCe stretching along the compact table booth, fiddling with her phone as the RV begins to weave through the side streets and, eventually, makes it onto the main road with Mona's car attached to the back. It's silent for a while, unfortunately, since they're all gloomy that they're heading home so soon. Mona feels slightly guilty, on one hand, because they can't stay longer, but she's happy that everyone had a nice time overall. She peers into the back cabin through an overhead mirror, only to see CeCe already napping and Alison playing with Emily's fingers. If everything goes according to the current fast-paced traffic, they should be home by 2:30 P.M.

Mona takes a deep breath and prepares for the route ahead while the others drift in and out of small naps.

X X X

"Home sweet home," Alison slightly frowns as she steps onto the sidewalk with Emily close behind.

The brunette tosses a couple of bags onto the cement before grabbing a few more from CeCe who assists. They empty everything out of the RV (aside from Mona's things) as Mona steps out onto the sidewalk as well, the vehicle's engine still running.

"Will you be okay driving that th—" CeCe starts until she corrects herself, "—Mercedes, I mean. Are you fine driving back alone? My car's here, so."

"I drove her here alone to pick you all up, remember?" Mona teases. "Yes, I'll be okay."

"Great," CeCe nods.

Their ride home was lengthy but bearable. Not much more traffic appeared, so they got past New York's state line with ease. Sometime during the drive, the girls grew a bit more lively than when they first took off from the cottage; at one point, CeCe and Mona sang some radio tune together while Emily and Alison just listened nearby. Another point, much to the couple's distaste, had CeCe and Mona teasing them about the night before.

" _I can't believe how loud you two were,"_ CeCe snorted. _"And for that long! I mean… I expected to hear some things but, at times, she and I were like—"_

" _We wouldn't have been so loud if we heard you guys come home,"_ Alison hissed.

" _Well, whose fault is that?"_ the girl looked pointedly at Alison who shifted her jaw.

" _Emily's,"_ she finally shrugged.

" _What?!"_ came Emily's disbelief.

After that, the teasing died down (well, for thirty minutes or so) as they made their way through Connecticut. They shared some leftover vacation snacks and exchanged other stories about what happened during their Cape Cod stay — mostly funny stories or memories. CeCe, of course, brought up both the Mike thing and the platinum-blonde's dismissal (courtesy of Aria and Spencer), before she declared, _"You know, I like your little friend group, Emily."_ The brunette, in response, said, _"Yeah, they're okay,"_ earning an elbow from her girlfriend — all in good fun, obviously.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," Mona speaks genuinely, shooting them all individual, sincere glances and they return the same expression.

"Ask boss-man for the house again soon," CeCe speaks up.

"I'll try my best."

The dark-haired girl nods towards the three girls before jogging into the RV and waving as she pulls back into a lane, driving down the street slowly.

"Do you need anything before I head out?" the taller blonde turns back towards the couple standing nearby.

"No, I think we're good," Alison looks at her girlfriend and then back towards her best friend. "I'll see you soon," they hug.

"Call me soon, Kiddo," CeCe tells Alison as she goes to hug Emily as well.

"I will," she responds, though the other girl rolls her eyes.

"Emily, remind her to call me soon," she directs at the brunette who laughs at Alison's expression, giving CeCe a "what did I do" face.

"Don't worry, I will," Emily chuckles and answers CeCe's request.

"Behave, you two," CeCe shoots back as she crosses the street with her bags.

Alison snickers at the comment and watches her best friend pack everything into her car before driving off quickly. Emily makes loud grunting sounds as she drags the multiple bags towards the front steps, earning a "Don't be such a drama queen" from the blonde who moves over to the mailbox. She picks up the wad of different envelopes and a few magazines, not bothering to check anything as she hears her girlfriend groaning when the door is still locked.

"Can you wait a second?" Alison stresses as she rummages through her small bag to find the keys.

Once the small piece of metal is located, she shoves it into the keyhole and twists, pushing the door open so Emily can pull the bags through.

" _Finally_ ," the brunette exaggerates as she plops the suitcases down near the stairs.

Alison shuffles through the mail as Emily goes back outside to get the few leftover bags, checking out each individual piece of paper and throwing the junk mail onto the top of the piano. About three letters into the stack of mail, she comes across an envelope with a gold seal covering the lip of the package, hastily tearing into it in order to reveal the contents. Her jaw clenches as she reads what's inside, her hands crumpling the edges of the laminated card slightly as her grip tightens.

Emily walks inside and throws the remaining bags onto the floor, pushing the front door shut with her foot afterwards. She talks to herself for a moment before turning to see Alison's body language completely stiff and angry-looking. Automatically, she grows concerned, taking a few steps in the girl's direction.

"Ali?"

No response comes; the blonde takes a deep breath before slamming the piece of paper and rest of the mail onto the piano's top. The instrument makes a distressed noise when the strings inside jiggle due to the force on its cover. Emily walks closer towards the piece of paper just as Alison begins to walk over to the couch, pacing nearby.

The brunette swallows hard when she delicately picks up a save-the-date card from none other than Elliott Rollins and whoever-the-fuck he cheated on Alison with. Emily's eyes scan the words _"Invitation to follow"_ and she immediately feels more hatred for this man — though she didn't think it was possible after everything that's happened thus far. She places the card back onto the piano's surface before glancing in her girlfriend's direction; Alison is pacing back and forth in front of the couch, biting on her knuckle as she walks.

"Ali," Emily speaks again, slowly moving in the girl's direction.

Alison, however, continues to pace, and Emily soon decides to leave her be. Instead, she sits down on the piano's bench and watches her girlfriend stress out over some asshole. The brunette runs a hand through her hair and waits for Alison to speak up, though it never comes. She grows nervous quickly when the other girl remains pacing for a good five minutes, almost never blinking from what Emily can see.

"Alison," this time, she speaks sternly.

"What?" Alison snaps her head upwards and Emily can see tears coming into her eyes — like she's finally… losing it.

"Talk to me," Emily's eyes are pleading as Alison shakes her head and starts to pace again. "Don't shut me out, Alison."

"I can't keep doing this," the blonde begins to speak frantically as her pacing speeds up and the distance grows shorter. "He's _everywhere_. How does he even know where I live? Oh, wait, of course my parents probably told him. This is fucking magnificent. He _just_ got released from jail and… it's like he gets off on torturing me. I'm fucking sick of it. I can't—"

Her breathing grows rapid and she runs her fingers through her hair. Emily notices that she's likely having some sort of panic attack and she's quick to rush over and sit Alison down on the couch.

"Stay," the brunette instructs before running over to the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge.

"Drink some, please," Emily pleads when she sits down next to the other girl.

Thankfully, Alison takes the water, though her hands are shaking pretty violently. She takes a few sips and Emily watches her with deep sympathy. The brunette takes the water bottle away once Alison is finished with it for the time-being, placing it onto the floor in a spot where they won't somehow knock it over.

"Breathe," Emily's voice regains its soft tone from before.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Emily shakes her head in understanding; she knows how much this man has hurt Alison in the past — well, maybe not to the exact extent, but she knows what he's done while she's been around. The blonde takes a few deep breaths as her hands shake less than before, however they remain vibrating a bit.

"Alison, if you want, we can go and get a restraining order on him…" Emily suggests.

"I'm thinking about it," the other girl's voice is barely audible as she looks down at her folded hands. "I'm so fucking sick of him. Every time he comes around I just… I remember everything that happened and I feel so _disgusting_ ," her eyes slam shut.

Emily's eyes lower when she feels guilty for not knowing how to comfort her girlfriend; it's a really gross feeling when someone you care for so deeply is in such emotional or mental pain and you can't do a damn thing to make them feel better — it's an internal healing process, and it sucks.

"I never told you exactly what happened," Alison whispers, "and that's because I'm ashamed of allowing him to treat me like he did."

"It's not your fault, Ali. Whatever happened… it has nothing to do with what you did."

"I can tell myself that as much as I want to, but that doesn't mean that I believe it," she sucks in a sharp breath. "I want to tell you what happened between him and I. Just know that I haven't discussed this in a long time for very good reasons."

"I'm right here," Emily comforts as she watches her girlfriend turn her body so she's half-leaning on the back of the couch while facing the brunette.

"He messed me up a lot, Em," she begins to cry right off the bat. "Sometimes I wish that I met you before I met him, because I'm so sorry that you have to deal with the aftermath of what he's put me through. Him _and_ my parents, actually."

"Ali—"

"No, please let me… I just need to get this out," her eyes are already sunken in, but she grabs for Emily's hand to let her know that she's not upset with her, in particular.

Both girls take in deep breaths during the short silence.

"I originally met him _partly_ through my parents. That should have been the first red flag," she laughs bitterly. "They introduced him as a complete gentleman and, luckily for them, he was wealthy and a good business-man. None of that mattered to me, of course, but I felt… lonely, lately," Alison slams her eyes shut as another tear falls.

"We spoke more and I practically threw myself at him, which he obviously loved. He'd call me _'baby-girl'_ in degrading tones but I'd brush it off and call it a pet name. Now I know that he just wanted me to feel so submissive that I wouldn't leave."

Emily can almost feel her heart beat slower when she hears the pain in her girlfriend's voice. Her own breathing grows shaky as she feels tears springing into her eyes.

"CeCe and Mona never really liked him, which should have been another warning sign since they're usually correct about people's personalities. They told me to leave _so_ many times, but I chose him over them and I regret it so fucking much," she hyperventilates for a moment before being able to continue.

"I didn't listen to them until my head was so screwed up and, even then, I stuck around. After all, he made me feel… _loved_ , in some sick way," she sniffles hard. "He'd take me out to business things and show me off, though his colleagues always made rude remarks which he joined in on, sometimes. For months before the engagement, Ce and Mona told me to drop him because they heard him saying things about me while I was gone to the bathroom one night at the bar."

Alison wipes at her face furiously and her lip quivers when she attempts to hold back more tears. It doesn't work, however, and she chokes on a sob before continuing.

"I made the stupid mistake of asking him if he had said those things and, first, he accused them of lying… but then he admitted that he had. It was something along the lines of me having a good body with no real intelligent aspects. He said, 'Well, they're not wrong, Alison,' and I walked away from him. I knew that I deserved more than that but, again, stupid me went crawling back to _him_. CeCe and Mona were so unhappy with me that they ignored my calls and texts for two days. Same thing happened when I announced my engagement to them. When they finally spoke to me again, they told me to leave him once and for all, but, still, I told them I couldn't. I mean… I really couldn't. I felt drawn to him, and I still don't know why."

"Because he provided you with arms to spend the night in," Emily answers sadly, voicing her thoughts.

"Maybe," Alison shrugs and sniffles again. "Or maybe I was just so naive that I thought he wouldn't always be like that. After every argument we got into, he'd bring it up in front of my parents and they'd take his side. They'd belittle me and tell me to be grateful. Every time, I'd walk away while sipping whatever drink I got my hands on that day. That's probably where I _completely_ lost control of my drinking habits, not that I had much control before."

"Do you feel like you need a drink now?"

"Sadly, I do," she swallows hard. "But I now know that I'm strong enough to keep myself away from the package store. Plus, I'm not fucking things up with you just because my asshole ex-fiancé is getting on my nerves. He doesn't deserve that satisfaction."

"It's good that you think so, Ali."

"I know. Everything is just so fucked right now, and I'm the one who let all of this happen," she massages her temples. "And he'll be sending a wedding invitation next."

"We'll deal with that when it gets here."

The blonde takes a deep breath and Emily has a few questions swirling around in her mind, though she's too timid to ask them. Within a minute or so, however, she finds the courage to voice one of her questions.

"Did he ever… physically hurt you?" her voice is quiet and she swallows hard, afraid of the answer.

"He shoved me twice," Alison bites her inner cheek. "Both times happened in his office. He was angry with stocks or something and, when I tried to comfort him, he snapped and shoved me backwards, once into a bookshelf. After the second time, I made it my mission to learn what stocks to watch for in case something crashed to make him act like that again," she explains before adding, "otherwise, no. Elliott is just a very, _very_ manipulative and emotionally damaging person. I'll be surprised if his new fiancée doesn't find that out soon… if she already hasn't."

"No amount or kind of abuse is okay, Alison," Emily's eyebrows furrow with even more worry and hatred towards the man. "And he shouldn't have touched you at all."

"I know, Emily, but I let it slide."

The brunette rubs at her own temples now, groaning in dislike for Elliott. Alison takes a deep breath nearby before stealing her girlfriend's hand and playing with her fingers.

"Can we _please_ file a restraining order against him?" Emily suddenly looks up with tired, watery eyes. "I don't care what it takes at this point, Ali. I'm going to keep you away from him at all costs. You deserve much more than the shit he puts on your plate," a bunch of tears stream from her eyes now.

"I'm so sorry," Alison begins to cry again as well, pursing her lips and looking down towards her lap. "I roped you into this and I'm so fucking sorry."

"Stop," the brunette's voice breaks as it raises a level. "This isn't your fault, Ali, and I don't care if you believe that it is. It is _not_ your fault. You're just stuck in this unfortunate situation, okay, but I'm here. _Willingly_. So stop apologizing for something you can't control."

Alison sobs harder, bringing her elbows to her knees as she buries her face in her palms. Emily closes her eyes and regrets lashing out at her girlfriend, but she doesn't take back what she had said because, well, it's the truth; none of this is Alison's fault — she's the victim, quite frankly.

"Come here," Emily sucks up her tears and pulls the other girl towards her, allowing Alison to tuck her face into her neck. "I'm sorry," she whispers as she rubs the blonde's back.

"I'm so tired," Alison's sobs calm down as she speaks. "Why won't he leave me alone?'

"He likes to torture you, Ali. You said it yourself. Don't let him win."

Silence consumes the room within minutes, the only noises being sniffles or shuffling from Alison who attempts to get more comfortable while cuddling into Emily's side. The time now reads 3:17 P.M. and the midday sun shines through the large window's curtains. Just as Emily assumes that her girlfriend has fallen asleep, the blonde breaks the room's silence, pushing her body up slightly.

"Emily," she says in the smallest voice and her girlfriend's eyes snap towards hers.

Alison shuts her eyes and sighs gently before regaining eye contact, "Do you… see a future with me?"

Emily's attentive expression doesn't change; she blinks a few times before responding, "Do you want the absolute, honest truth?"

"Yes," Alison's heart sinks a little as the answer is barely audible.

"I can't see a future with anyone _but_ you, Alison," the brunette says as she looks down at their newly-clasped hands. "If you asked me this question a few days after we met, maybe I wouldn't have been sure because things weren't all that easy. I probably would have shrugged or given you some short, insincere answer. We've grown so much since then, even if it hasn't been that long," she lets out a shaky laugh, "and, honestly, sometimes it makes me feel anxious because I feel like I can't stand on my own anymore… almost like I've become dependent. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or…" they both take a deep breath.

She finishes, "All I know is that I'm one-hundred and fifty percent in love with you and who you are, and I hope that you let me love you for a very long time."

"How can you feel so much for someone…" Alison looks away while struggling to find the words, though she never finishes the thought. "How do you know your feelings for me won't change years from now, or maybe even months, or days? I'm not easy to deal with, and I know that you always say that you _want_ to deal with me, but…"

"I'll tell you how I know," Emily says with a stern expression, yet still soft voice. "Every day since we've been together… I've seen you get better. I've seen you grow stronger even while struggling with an addiction and hopeless mindset," she smiles slightly. "I know, for certain, that you're trying, and I believe that you'll keep getting stronger for years to come. I want to be here, next to you, to see that happen."

"Em, I just… I never want you to feel like you're obligated to stay with me."

"I know I'm not obligated and I've known that all along," she rubs her thumb along Alison's palm. "Let me ask you the same question, Alison. Do you see a future with me?"

"So much that it scares me," she answers honestly, her voice partially cracking. "I can't imagine a day where I don't wake up because you're getting up to take a jog, or a day where you don't come home from work and kiss me because you… genuinely _missed_ me. I don't _want_ to imagine it," she continues, a few tears falling, "and that fucking terrifies me because life has never worked out in my favor."

"I'm not going anywhere, okay? I promise, Ali," Emily half-pleads.

"Please don't promise something like that," a few more tears fall as she sucks in a sharp breath. "If something ever happens and you do leave—"

"Shh," Emily interrupts, wiping the other girl's tears. "You've trusted me up until this very moment and I haven't gone anywhere. Please, don't stop trusting me now. I'm not leaving."

"I'm trying," she cries.

"I know, I know," the brunette comforts as she kisses the other girl's knuckles. "Ali, where's all of this coming from?"

Alison sighs and wipes her own tears furiously, sniffling a little.

"I guess the save-the-date just made me think."

"We talked about this, baby," she coos. "Don't pay attention to him. He's doing it to get under your skin."

"It's not him who I'm upset about. It's me, Em," she cries again. "What if I'm too destroyed to ever bounce back completely and marry someone or, _God_ , even send stupid, frilly save-the-date cards?"

"No one ever bounces back completely, Alison. You can't set that standard for yourself or you _will_ end up destroying yourself," Emily gives insight.

"So how do I push forward? How do I fix things?" there's another panicking edge to Alison's voice as she breathes heavier, Emily rubbing circles on her back again so she calms down.

"First," Emily begins once she's looking into her girlfriend's eyes, "you focus less on the past and more on the now. Next, you stop predicting that I'm going to leave you, and you start believing me when I say that I want to love you for a very long time. You need to let go of everything that's happened, and pay attention to what you could possibly make happen if you set your mind to it. _Please_."

When the blonde stays silent, Emily speaks again, her voice beginning to crack as more tears well up in her own eyes.

"Please, Alison, I need you to love yourself."

The other girl sits there as the words soak in syllable by syllable. The quietness becomes thick as Emily wipes her own face with the back of her hand, though she keeps a hold on Alison's with her other.

"I don't think you know how much I really love you," Alison confesses after some time.

"And maybe I don't…" Emily agrees and her damp cheeks are visible as she cracks a tiny smile, "but I hope I get to find out one day."

"You will," Alison says suddenly, a determined tone peaking as she looks into her girlfriend's eyes deeper than before.

"Promise?" Emily smirks slightly and Alison rolls her eyes before nodding softly.

"I promise."

The two spend the next twenty minutes sitting together quietly, occasionally exchanging pecks on the lips and hands. Soon, however, Emily remembers that they should probably unpack. She gives her girlfriend a quick "I'll unpack. Just relax, okay?" before kissing her on the head and walking away. Alison frowns at the loss of comfort for a minute before following the other girl upstairs, earning the comment "I told you to relax."

"I can relax up here," she responds, curling into a ball over the blankets.

Emily stares at her for a moment before going back to unpacking. She neatly takes their clothes out and re-folds a few of the items, storing her own garments in the closet dresser and Alison's in the various cubbies, as well as hanging some items up on the rack. It takes about an hour of pacing back and forth until she's more than halfway done, only the bathroom items left to unpack downstairs. In the meantime, Alison seems to have fallen asleep and Emily takes a good look at her girlfriend; she notes that the blonde has noticeable circles around her eyes (likely from crying), and her face is rosy.

Emily kneels down next to the mattress and pushes a few strands of hair away from Alison's face, causing the girl's eyes to flutter open with a soft "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"Don't be sorry," Emily responds with kind eyes. "I was just thinking that you should eat something. You haven't had anything substantial since the ride home."

Alison shuts her eyes again, her eyelids flickering for a moment before she opens them.

"I'll even bring you something in bed if you'd like," the brunette offers. "Or… if you want, I can go out and get us something to eat."

"No, please don't leave me here," a tear or two spring back into Alison's eyes, likely the remnants from the day's stress. "We can find something downstairs."

"Okay, okay," she whispers back and places a kiss to Alison's forehead. "I'll go get something downstairs."

"I'm coming too."

"You don't have to, baby. Rest."

"I want to, though," Alison sighs as she rolls out of bed and walks past her girlfriend who frowns.

The two make their way into the kitchen as Alison sits down on one of the island's stools, and leans her chin on her hands while her elbows are popped up. Emily rummages through the cabinets and fridge, searching for something quick, though not finding many instant meals.

"Em," Alison grins softly and her girlfriend turns around. "Can you make us breakfast?"

"Tomorrow?"

"No, right now," she speaks shyly. "You never really cooked breakfast for me yet or, well, anything…"

"That's because I'm afraid that I'll somehow burn the house down," Emily chuckles and Alison shakes her head.

" _Please_ ," Alison begs in a babyish voice, burying her face into her now-folded arms.

"Breakfast for dinner?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Emily shrugs, not exactly having a rebuttal. The blonde gives her a small smile and the other girl arches an eyebrow while tilting her head, attempting to get more of a smile out of Alison. When it works, she smiles back and Alison giggles.

"Fine, I'll make breakfast for dinner," Emily relents as she turns back towards the fridge and scopes out what they have. "What do you want?"

"I want…" the other girl squints in thought. "I have no idea."

"Pancakes, french toast, or just… eggs with bacon and toast? Unless you want to make my life a living hell by asking me to cook an omelet."

"French toast," Alison decides.

"You and Hanna," Emily mumbles while shaking her head. "Okay, _but_ , this means I really do have to run to the store since we need milk."

Alison groans, "Okay, let me fix myself a little. I look like I stepped out of a cave."

"You don't need to come, Ali. The store is right down the street."

"I want to," she says as she walks out of the room, advancing towards the bathroom.

The couple leaves soon after, making their way over to the small corner store and buying a few things. While they're there, in addition to the milk they originally set out to buy, Alison decides to throw a few, small bottles of juice onto the counter as well as an ice cream tub. Emily shakes her head and pays the cashier, walking out with the two bags while Alison refuses to help out. They make it home soon after, and Emily empties the groceries onto the counter before putting most things away.

Next, she makes their dinner, not messing up once (with extreme internal surprise considering how she felt super put on-the-spot). Alison watches on, clearly impressed by her girlfriend's cooking skills, while Emily confesses that she used to suck at making anything — including cereal.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," Emily nods harshly. "I've seen a few fires in my time."

"Well, it's delicious. No flames involved," Alison grins and Emily soaks in the gratitude.

The rest of the night goes by smoothly. They enjoy one another's company, and vow to relax tomorrow as well, since Emily still has another day off before her normal work schedule comes back into play. The two steal loveable glances at each other every now and then as they watch TV. Alison puts on the fourth Harry Potter movie when she sees that it's, coincidentally, airing on an actual network. As the film rolls on, the sun begins to set and Emily mentions the fact, recalling the time that Alison told her that she'd have to stay for a few of them. The blonde blushes at the memory but claims, "And here you are," earning another kiss.

The movie finishes around 9 P.M., and the blonde had already been dozing off by the time the end credits hit the screen. Emily, upon seeing the girl's eyes flickering shut, whispers that they should go up to bed. Alison nods sleepily, though she doesn't move from being tucked into her girlfriend's side. When Emily nudges the other girl once more and earns no response, she sighs and picks her up, much like the few times before. Alison absentmindedly wraps her arms around the other girl's neck when she snaps back into a more-awake state. She feels her body pressed against the mattress soon after, followed by the sound of Emily walking back downstairs to finish getting ready for bed. Alison silently panics for a minute when her girlfriend doesn't immediately lay down, but takes a deep breath, forcing herself to remember that she'll be back soon enough.

Emily lies down next to the other girl a few seconds after, Alison breathing out when she feels the mattress dip partially. The blonde automatically turns over and curls up against her girlfriend's body. They kiss a few times as Alison brushes her thumb against Emily's cheek.

"I love you so much," she whispers to the brunette who stares into her eyes.

"I love you too."

Alison's thoughts race quickly and she wants to say something else; she wants to tell Emily that she can't wait to wake up to her face tomorrow morning, or how she's excited that she gets to lay next to her every night. She doesn't, however, because, well, she feels embarrassed that these small things are so comforting to her.

"Get some sleep, Ali," Emily whispers. "We'll make tomorrow better, okay?"

"Okay," Alison whispers back, not trusting herself to say anything more since tears are already springing into her eyes.

"You and me," comes another sleepy whisper, almost inaudible.

It's like Emily knew that her thoughts were about to jump onto a never-ending cycle of _what if_ 's. Alison, though lying quietly, begins to loathe the fact that she can't seem to get through a day without turning it into some depressing experience. _"It's not your fault,"_ a voice inside her head speaks, and the blonde nods softly against the other girl's chest. In the end, she decides that she needs to take Emily's advice from before; _"You need to let go of everything that's happened, and pay attention to what you could possibly make happen if you set your mind to it."_ She's right and Alison knows it; she needs to make things better for both her _and_ Emily, and that's her last thought before she drifts into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **Elliott… Elliott… look what you done did, you little gremlin. I swear, he's a cockroach. Me me: Yeah, but you wrote him. *shrugs* What'd you think of Alison's tell-all? I think her character development is impeccable in both the drinking and confessing areas. She's still very broken, but I'm happy to say that next chapter will begin her upwards climb in order to finish her character arc, taking us to the end of this fic. (Again, sad face, I know). We still have five chapters, though, and there are a lot of fun/fluffy/heated/artsy things coming up.**

 **"Please, Alison, I need you to love yourself." — my favorite line, by far.**

 **But how about the rest of their comforting night? French toast and Harry Potter, yup.**

 **Now, my upcoming fic is a concept that has, indeed, been done/thought of before, but I'm really excited to put my own spin on things, so bear with me.**

 **Summary: Following a three-part prequel set only minutes after the 2x12 barn scene, the main story takes place five years after running away. Emily and Alison are happily together, living in the suburbs of New Jersey. Within minutes, their future is put on hold when old pieces of their pasts begin to surface one after another, lies unfolding left and right.**

 **— [And now, an excerpt for your reading pleasure] —**

 **"This is business," Hanna stands up afterwards, tilting her head slightly. "Nothing personal. After we're done here, you'll be gone again, and I'll be happy."**

 **It's the brunette's turn to bitterly laugh, and that's when Alison stands up so she can pull the other girl down the hallway, but Emily refuses and continues to stand her ground. Alison partially hides behind Emily, keeping her mouth shut even though she _really_ wants to leave. She holds onto the brunette's forearm, hoping that it'll keep her calm and, maybe, keep herself from having some sort of anxiety attack.**

 **"Yes, this _is_ personal. _Very_ personal," Emily shakes her head. **

**"Maybe for you," Hanna raises her nose a bit.**

 **"What the hell happened to you over the years?" the brunette continues to shake her head with a great amount of force, trying to rid her mind of every bad thought.**

 **"You'd know if you had stuck around."**

 **There it is, Emily internally thinks; there's the real, shattered Hanna. Emily stands there, lips slightly parted as she looks conflicted with a panic-stricken Alison grasping onto her forearm. The brunette swallows hard, not knowing what to say now that she's gotten the reaction she was looking for — it was a shit plan, really, to poke the bear, but now she has to deal with the aftermath.**

 **"Han—"**

 **"You know," Hanna cuts Emily off, "after everyone left, I felt like nothing."**

 **The blonde girl shifts her jaw, visibly looking betrayed… almost as if she's feeling all of the emotions that she'd felt back when it first happened.**

 **"I _was_ nothing," she continues. "Caleb was the only person around who even dared to go near me, so we finally left. Everyone else had run off beforehand, so why not? We ran away, changed our names, got married at eighteen, and stayed under the radar. I kept tabs on my mother who, by the way, became an alcoholic because her daughter randomly went missing. Just another missing girl from that fucked up town," she laughs bitterly. **

**"But, in the end, all I could think about was how this all started with you, Alison," Hanna turns her attention towards the girl cowering behind Emily. "Oh, no, excuse me. _Vivian_."**

 **Alison shrinks back again with her grip tightening as Emily steps further in front of her, acting like a human shield for the other girl from one of their former best friends. Hanna's demeanor doesn't soften one bit when the brunette stands between them; actually, her exterior almost seems even angrier now that there's a body dividing them.**

 **"None of that was Alison's fault, Hanna," Emily furrows her eyebrows while speaking with her free hand. "She ran away to protect herself, just like you did, and just like I did."**

 **"Oh, give me a break. You didn't run away to protect yourself. You ran away because Alison still had you wrapped around her finger after an entire year of being gone."**

 **"That's _not_ why I left," Emily shakes her head with a glare. **

**"Really? Enlighten me on what happened, then. Go ahead."**

 **When both Emily and Alison remain silent (with Alison on the verge of tears while she stands behind the other girl), Hanna laughs bitterly.**

 **"And she _still_ has you wrapped around her finger," she points out, pursing her lips afterwards.**

 **— [End of sneak peek excerpt] —**

 **So, what do you think? This is only a snippet, I promise. I wish I could give you more, but maybe in a future TM &HS author's note. As for characters… it'll be Emison-based, obviously, with the other three girls, their respective lovers (I've kept the "main" ships), and other canon characters such as Noel, Mona, CeCe, etc. I must say… even though it's Emison-centric, I'm doing my best to focus on each girl's backstory because every detail is important. **

**I'll warn you now… I'm going to be putting quite a few trigger warnings on this new story because I don't know who's had experiences with what, and I don't want anyone feeling targeted by any of the storylines within. I've had my own experiences, definitely, so I really do care about each and every one of you. That being said, I will NOT dive too far into anything involving gorey storylines and/or heavy depression/suicide (and this goes for my own well-being). [For those who want to know right now so they don't get attached, the TW's are: weapon-involved violence, blood/wound mentions, parental death, PTSD, depression mentions, former drug/alcohol addiction mentions.] Love you all.**

 **If you find that "trigger warnings" are spoilers, they'll only be specifically listed in the first chapter's beginning author's note (and briefly mentioned in pertaining chapters), so you can skip them. Better safe than sorry, I always say.**

 **Now that I possibly turned you off from wanting to read my newest story, I hope everyone has a nice week… and I'm 90% that my next update will be on next Wednesday, but who knows. I'll see you then, and also, if you started school already, good luck!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Ayo!**

 **Okay, so, a lot of people have been asking if I'd like some one-shot ideas and/or headcanons. To those people: Go for it! Send me ideas through PM, reviews, on Tumblr. Wherever. I'll keep them in a folder and, hopefully, write some of them. I'll likely post more one-shots once I'm done writing the multi-chapter.**

 **This chapter is pretty damn fluffy and cute (in my personal opinion), so prepare yourselves for a group date.**

* * *

Nine days pass at light-speed. Alison guesses that whoever claimed, _"Time flies when you're having fun,"_ really knew what they were talking about. Over the last week, she's felt… revived, in a way ━ like she's been healing, of sorts. After that dreaded day (you know, _right after_ they got home from a beautiful vacation), Alison made it her mission to improve — not only for the sake of her relationship with Emily, but mostly for herself.

The day following that Wednesday, the couple had relaxed for an entire twenty-four hours since Emily had the day off, just resting their thoughts with small, meaningless conversations and back rubs that didn't turn into anything more (not to say that neither of them _attempted_ to go further); _"Em, that's definitely not my back,"_ Alison shook her head while lying face down, earning the response _"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself"_ from the girl straddling her thighs.

Friday came fast, as well, and (due to her normal work schedule) Emily had another day off. The brunette woke up early, as per usual, in order to take a morning jog. She was surprised, however, when she rolled out of bed only to be followed downstairs by her girlfriend who chimed, _"Ready to go?"_ Emily, in response, joked, _"And… who are you?"_ During their jog (well, fast-walk), Emily had adjusted her pace to fit better with Alison's, though, taking the brunette by surprise _again_ , she wasn't much slower.

" _Did you expect to beat me out by five miles?"_ the blonde smirked as they arrived back at the house.

" _Yeah, actually,"_ Emily finished her stretches before following the other girl through the doorway.

The rest of Friday went by smoothly. Alison and Emily decided to take a trip to a few popular NYC stores after Alison had randomly stated, _"Let's go pick out some new home decor and stuff. I just realized that you haven't really… made your mark, yet. This house is half yours too, Em, and I want you to pick out some things."_ It took Emily by surprise (for what felt like the millionth time that day), that's for sure, and she was actually pretty moved by the sentiment — that is, until she remembered that Hanna had said she's not all that "colorful." Alison fixed that "issue" quickly and hours flew by (especially after the blonde dragged her girlfriend into at least ten different stores). Before leaving, Alison side-eyed a very specific NYC building and Emily caught onto this, not asking any questions, however getting an answer anyway: _"That's their building,"_ Alison spoke with an unreadable tone, _"my parents', I mean."_

" _It's…"_ Emily struggled to find any words.

" _Big? Yeah, like their egos,"_ Alison finished with a bitter laugh.

" _Are you okay?"_

" _I feel… stronger than I thought I would,"_ the blonde smiled as she looked back towards the towering building. _"It's new and, honestly, I knew we'd pass their company today, but I wanted to see if I'd be okay,"_ she nodded more so to herself before looking back at her girlfriend and placing a small kiss on her cheek, _"and I am."_

After that, the two filed into a taxi with quite a few bags, Emily carrying most of them. The ride was the slowest part of their small trip since they were in the middle of NYC on a Friday night. When they finally arrived home, Emily lugged their bags up the steps with an _"It's okay, babe, I got it,"_ while Alison unlocked the door with a _"That's good, baby,"_ and a gentle laugh. The shopping bags were tossed onto the living room couch as Alison began to sort through their new things: a beautiful, white and charcoal grey bed set (that they had picked out together), five new, assorted picture frames, and a tall-ish, metal decoration piece: a wired Eiffel Tower model with a center tray holding a timed, electric tealight candle.

" _I'm not too boring, am I?"_ Emily asked timidly as she plopped down next to the new items on the couch.

" _Definitely not, Em,"_ Alison responded with furrowed eyebrows. _"I love you and your simplistic style. It doesn't conflict with my more-complex tastes,"_ she smirked.

Saturday wasn't as fun for them since it was Emily's first day back at work after vacation. Alison had woken up with the other girl and they spent the early morning with one another before Emily left for No End around 10:40 A.M. Once the brunette had left, Alison fell asleep on the couch for an hour until forcing herself to write a page or two for work. Her job, actually, has been pretty manageable and (sometimes) entertaining; her boss was impressed with her first few articles, especially the one done on No End (since she writes more enthusiastically when she's passionate about something — or _someone_ ), so they gave Alison more freedom when it comes to writing articles.

Emily came home that day to find her girlfriend typing at a fast pace, carefully placing her keys down on the hallway's table so she wouldn't disturb the other girl. She went about her business until Alison finished up the article ━ actually _finishing_ within the day. For the rest of their Saturday, the two ordered Chinese food and Alison offered to play the piano for Emily which, obviously, the brunette loved; she watched with severe admiration as her girlfriend showed her a new tune that she had been working on in weeks prior. After that, the two spent the remnants of the night making out on the couch like love-struck teenagers, some random movie blaring in the background as the atmosphere became heated. Their moment ended before it could escalate, however, because Hanna decided to FaceTime Emily around 10 P.M., causing the brunette to groan loudly as she debated on answering it.

" _Emily, don't you dare think of declining the call,"_ Alison warned.

" _Come on,"_ Emily whined and her girlfriend took the phone as she tapped the "accept" button, earning another long, distraught groan.

" _What's her issue?"_ Hanna's voice came through, referring to the end of Emily's noise of distress.

" _Nothing. She's being needy,"_ Alison rolled her eyes and the other blonde made an _"ahh"_ noise.

Currently, on a warm Friday night, Alison checks her make-up in the mirror and fixes her short, dark dress. She puckers her lips as she touches up her light-red lipstick and then walks out of the bathroom to find Emily in the hallway, fixing her own make-up in the smaller mirror. Alison moves towards her, wrapping her arms around Emily's torso and pressing a gentle kiss to the sensitive spot underneath her ear.

"I better not have any lipstick on me, Ali," the brunette chuckles as she looks at her girlfriend using the mirror's reflection.

Alison grins and uses her thumb to rub the same spot, making sure to erase any remaining color before she squishes her own lips together to keep the lipstick applied evenly.

Sometime during the week, Hanna and Caleb invited everyone to dinner at a semi-classy, nearby sports bar; the blonde had also called Mona (who invited Mike) and CeCe, so it became a group date — well, before Wednesday, it was more like a triple-date with CeCe seventh-wheeling. That changed, however; on Wednesday, CeCe and Alison stopped by No End while Emily was working so Alison could drop off some food for her girlfriend before heading to the mall. While the two blondes stood at the front desk, Vincent, one of Emily's co-workers, had walked out from the back in order to collect money from the client he had just finished working on.

After the client left, Vincent remained (quietly) standing next to Emily as CeCe began to fascinate over his completed tattoo sleeve. She asked him multiple questions and he seemed… happy to answer… actually. The taller blonde even got a big smile or two out of him which, honestly, Emily had never seen before (except for at Brixton's wedding). The brunette carefully watched their interaction while Alison tapped away on her phone, occasionally asking her girlfriend a question or two about if she needed anything at the mall. Within the passing minutes, Alison finally stuffed her phone back into her purse and said, _"Alright, Ce, let's go,"_ and Emily was sad to tear CeCe and Vincent apart, though CeCe blushed before leaving, muttering a quick _"Very nice to meet you, um…"_ and Vincent caught on, filling in the blank name.

" _Vincent. Nice to meet you too…"_

" _CeCe,"_ she shook his hand before walking out with a dopey smile.

Emily grinned at the encounter, clearly impressed that CeCe was able to get a friendly response from the man who she had never gotten a real chance to know over her time at No End. Almost immediately, she turned to him (albeit cautiously), and suggested, _"Hey, Vincent. How would you like to go out with a bunch of people this Friday? Like a group date, kind of. You don't need to, obviously, but…"_ she pursed her lips in a thinking manner, _"CeCe will be there and I figured you two could talk more."_

Vincent seemed too shy to answer at first, his head bowed slightly as he typed a few things into the shop's laptop, though he glanced at Emily a few times while she spoke. Once he rubbed his left hand on his chin for a moment, he responded, _"Do I need to dress up for it?"_

" _Not much,"_ Emily breathed out a laugh. _"We're just going to a nearby sports bar."_

" _Hm,"_ his next response was short, _"Alright. I'm in."_

Emily could have sworn that he began to smile again before walking away. She had informed Alison of the plans once she arrived home, causing the blonde to (carefully) tell her best friend who, in the end, accepted the plans. As days passed, Mona was probably the most thrilled (next to Hanna who reacted in an overly-enthusiastic way, coining the term " _quad-date_ ") about everyone being paired off.

"Em," Alison speaks quietly as she presses her front against Emily's back like previously, "how well do you know Vincent?"

"Well…" Emily chews her bottom lip as she remains standing in the mirror. "I know that he's a fantastic tattoo artist and a great artist in general. He's Brixton's cousin and, naturally, their family is extremely close and loyal to one another, which is one of the reasons why Brixton's wedding was so beautiful."

"Are you sure he's… solid?" the blonde's voice is even more quiet as Emily turns around and hugs her girlfriend. "Like, in the sense that he won't just use Ce?"

"Ali, I wouldn't have invited him if I thought he was a bad guy," Emily comforts the other girl and presses a kiss to her head. "He's quiet, that's for sure, but he's never been anything less than a good person to have around. Vincent is very reliable. I don't exactly know his life story, but I've never seen him smile as much as he did when he was talking to CeCe."

"Just…" Alison bites her inner cheek. "CeCe rarely gives _anyone_ her full attention in _that way_ , because she's been fucked over a few too many times. I just want to make sure he's… for her, you know?"

"Look, if he turns out to be a dick in any way, shape, or form, I'll take the blame, okay?" Emily looks into her girlfriend's worried eyes. "But I really sensed something between them at the shop, and you would have too if you weren't so busy playing on your phone that day," she teases.

"I was trying to see if Victoria's Secret was having any good sales!" she laughs.

" _Mhm_ ," Emily hums with a slight smirk. "And were they?"

"Stop that," Alison pokes her girlfriend's chest. "It's time to go. We're already late."

After stealing another few kisses, Alison backs away from her seemingly still-needy girlfriend as she waves a finger in the girl's direction while making sure her lipstick is still applied. Meanwhile, Emily takes her bag and opens the door, pre-locking it before shutting the barrier behind them.

"We're buying a damn car for our next big purchase, Em," Alison notifies with an impatient tone as the other girl waves to a taxi.

"Don't you enjoy taxi rides?"

" _No_ , and you know that," the blonde's eyes narrow and Emily innocently bats her eyelashes.

Once the vehicle pulls up next to them, Alison tells the driver where they're heading and the woman begins advancing in the sports bar's direction. It's a short ride for them (being between their house, and Caleb and Hanna's), though it'll probably be a longer ride for Mona and CeCe since they both live in the opposite direction. The taxi stops in the restaurant's parking lot as Emily pays the woman, muttering a sincere "Thank you" as she slides out of the car after her girlfriend.

"Ali!" Hanna swiftly makes her way towards the other blonde and wraps her in a big hug, doing the same to Emily once she spots the other girl.

"Em!" she gushes in the same tone. "Glad you could make it."

"Is anyone else here yet?" Alison nods towards Caleb.

"Vincent is inside getting us a table," he notifies, and Alison looks at her girlfriend who has a "see, he's a nice guy" expression written across her features.

"I've never seen him so… put together," Hanna half-whispers to Emily who, again, shoots her girlfriend a look.

A few times when Hanna had stopped by the shop to visit Emily, she earned only a small _"Hello"_ when coming face-to-face with Vincent. The blonde often felt awkward, only because he was so quiet, but she always attempted to make conversation with him anyway. Sadly, even when she used her super-friendly voice, he wasn't always receptive and didn't pay much attention — not in a rude way, but mostly because he's a shy person.

"Mhm," Alison hums at Emily and Hanna chuckles, "we'll see."

Before Emily can respond, Mike's car pulls into a nearby parking space with Mona stepping out of the passenger's seat while laughing and CeCe doing the same, sliding out from one of the back seats. Mike, on the other side, opens the driver's door and walks over to the group that stands in front of the restaurant with the two girls following arm-in-arm. Alison notes CeCe's nice (and likely brand new) outfit: tight, navy jeans accompanied by a pretty, red blouse, and simple jewelry to go along with the clothing.

"Vincent is inside," Hanna informs just as CeCe steps onto the sidewalk, earning an elongated " _ooh_ " from Mona at her side.

The taller blonde blushes and doesn't respond. A silence falls over the group (with the exception of Mike and Caleb discussing some sort of new software or whatever kind of construction), before Vincent walks out of the restaurant, clearing his throat almost immediately when seeing CeCe. He attempts to cover a blush, though doesn't succeed well, and Emily smirks at her girlfriend who rolls her eyes. The man is dressed up in a plain black t-shirt and matching black jeans, nice boots on his feet, and a small cross necklace dangling around his neck. His hair is messy (but a good messy, Emily notices; it's different than other days), and, instantly, the group can tell he smells extremely good (however it isn't overbearing).

"You look…" he walks towards CeCe immediately. "... _beautiful_."

"You don't look too bad yourself," CeCe responds, blushing, and Mona exchanges a shocked yet impressed expression with Alison.

"Is our table ready?" Hanna reluctantly breaks the tension and Vincent clears his throat again.

"Yeah, it is," he speaks with a shy smile, "sorry," he apologizes to everyone for making them wait.

Hanna bounces her eyebrows at CeCe who purses her lips before making small talk with her date. They walk behind the other couples, obviously sitting next to one another at a large, elevated, corner booth. Everyone orders their drink soon after sitting down, only a handful of them asking for alcoholic beverages (Hanna, Mona, and Mike). Afterwards, they take in the bar's scenery, noting and complementing the various sports memorabilia and big-screen TVs near the center bar area.

"It's actually pretty clean in here," Mona nods more so to herself. "Nice."

"Surprisingly, it's always this tidy," Vincent speaks up, slightly surprising everyone else since he's mostly been speaking to CeCe. "I come here with Brixton sometimes during hockey season," he elaborates.

"Rangers, Islanders, or Sabres?" CeCe grins at her hockey knowledge.

"Kings," he smiles when her jaw drops slightly in a shocked manner.

"An LA fan, huh?" she responds, bumping his shoulder gently. "Bummed they were Xed in the first round?"

"Bummed is an understatement," Vincent laughs.

"Is that why you called in sick the next day?" Emily chuckles from nearby.

"I was too pissed," he laughs harder, mostly at himself.

"Mike's like that with baseball," Mona looks towards her boyfriend. "I don't dare talk to him about anything other than the sport during game time."

"Yup," Mike agrees. "One day, she came over and suddenly knew how to play the entire game," he smiles proudly, taking her hand.

"Oh, so that's why you were so into wiffle ball at the beach," CeCe's eyebrow quirks.

"Had to put my skills to good use," Mona shrugs.

"That was fun, though, you have to admit," Caleb directs at CeCe who, in the end, nods in admission.

Alison and Mona exchange another round of glances, both because of CeCe's new-found personality with her date and her seemingly expansive knowledge of a sport that they've never really spoken about. Emily looks at her girlfriend who sits next to her, watching between CeCe and Vincent like a hawk.

"Babe," Emily whispers quietly, "ease up on the glaring."

"Is it that noticeable?"

"I'm sure even the bartender over there is worried you're going to strangle someone," the brunette chuckles and nonchalantly pulls the other girl closer. "They seem to be enjoying each other, so, just try and have fun."

"You're right," Alison sighs. "He seems really sweet and, somehow, he's balancing CeCe's personality. I've never really seen her like this."

"And I've never seen him like this. I told you that."

"I know, I know," Alison sits back before throwing her voice over the table. "Vincent, tell me about your tattoos."

Emily chuckles when he looks towards Alison, taken aback by the sudden change in conversation. Without hesitation, he huffs with a soft "Okay, where to start…" giving most of his tattoos quick glances before pointing towards parts of sleeve and explaining what they mean.

"This is a hippogriff," he puts his pointer finger on his left bicep. "You know… the mythical creature," he continues, earning an eyebrow raise from Mona who seems intrigued as well as CeCe.

"Then…" his hand moves around the area just above his elbow, "this design is mostly just line-work that resembles a suit of armor," next, his hand moves over to his inner forearm area, "and _this_ is an hourglass with sand pouring out, held onto by owl talons, and surrounded by the silhouette of birds."

"That's sick," Mike comments, admiring the sleeve's details.

Alison nods with an impressed expression as CeCe's eyes flicker between her date's eyes and tattoos. Hanna points towards his other arm and asks, "What about that one?"

"Ah," Vincent almost forgets to explain his other piece, "it's a roman-numeral memorial tattoo for my dad."

The table grows silent and slightly awkward, Vincent picking up on it right away and easing everyone's running thoughts.

"Don't worry," he smiles, "people ask all the time. I didn't get it to make people feel bad, really, I got it because I just wanted him with me all the time."

CeCe grabs his wrist in assurance, earning a slightly-nervous "Thank you" in return. Alison smirks at her smitten best friend as a waitress comes over, apologizing for the wait as she pens everyone's order. Most of them order things such as interesting-sounding burgers or quesadillas, however Hanna orders a buffalo chicken salad, earning a look from her brunette best friend that sits across the table.

" _What_? I had a big lunch," she sinks into her seat and Emily raises her hands in surrender.

"I hear that," Mike grunts nearby. "The guys bought bacon and ranch pizzas for lunch," he winces. "I won't be eating much."

"You _knew_ that we were going out to dinner," Mona gently scolds while poking at his hand rested on the table's surface.

"I couldn't resist," he chuckles.

While they wait for their food, Hanna declares that she has a small announcement, and Emily nervously glances at Caleb who chuckles with a "just listen" expression.

"Thanks to Caleb who put in a good word for me with his cousin," Hanna explains, "who is my boss at the internship…" she purses her lips before continuing, "I'm _finally_ done with the internship phase and they said they'll find a permanent job for me. More money," she says excitedly and Emily beams for her best friend.

"That's great, Han," she expresses her own excitement and Hanna gives Caleb a kiss on the cheek.

"She deserves it," Caleb grins and taps Hanna on the nose, earning a small pout.

"Congrats, Mini-me," CeCe smirks at Hanna who sticks her tongue out.

"You're going to kill it, Han," Mona comments with a sly smile. "Maybe we can exchange up-coming fashion trends and tips," she sips her drink.

"Of course," Hanna smiles.

Once they get their food (and it's rather quickly this time), the group eats happily and quietly. Alison steals some ( _a lot_ ) of her girlfriend's french fries, earning a glare from the brunette as she tries to pull her plate away. It doesn't work, however, and Alison just pulls the plate back with a convincing smirk. Emily relents, eventually, and lets her girlfriend steal more of her food as the night continues. After an hour, everyone is finished (with a few content yet uncomfortable groans), and the waitress comes back around to take their empty plates with the exception of bringing back some leftover containers for Mike, Mona, and CeCe.

The group remains sitting, chatting for a bit longer once they order another round of whatever drink they had previously. Laughter escalates between the four couples, clearly enjoying the night overall. Vincent and CeCe sit closer, Alison notes with a small smile as she takes a sip of her drink. Emily grabs for her girlfriend's hand under the table as they continue to join the different conversations.

"So," Mona directs the impending, fresh topic towards Vincent who looks back at her attentively, "tell us more about you… I mean, if that's not too demanding," she mumbles the last part, mentally smacking herself in case she came across rude.

"Alright," he sits back and thinks for a moment. "I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to videogames and comic books," he confesses with a laugh, his cheeks growing pink. "I've been drawing and entering art contests since I was pretty young. My dad actually sent me to Italy for an art-expo a while back," he reminisces quickly. "Um… oh yeah, and I have a Doberman Pinscher, Great Dane mix."

" _Christ_ ," Mona's eyes bug, "aren't those massive?"

"Yeah, she's pretty big," he admits. "But she's such a softy and a gentle giant."

"What's her name?" CeCe smiles when Vincent suddenly pulls a picture out of his leather wallet, showing his date a small photo of the dog and getting a long " _aww_ " in response.

"Violet," he shows the rest of the group the picture before sliding it back into his wallet. "She's a rescue from somewhere out in the Midwest. I adopted her when she was the size of a small suitcase, and now she's… _very_ big, but I love her."

"She's so cute," CeCe coos.

"Agreed," Hanna and Mona comment simultaneously.

"When are we getting a dog?" Hanna looks at Caleb, suddenly, and Vincent laughs.

"As long as you help out with taking care of it… I don't mind," he responds, looking back at his girlfriend who seems like she's debating on whether or not she'd be willing to pick up after it.

"Yeah, Em," Alison turns to her girlfriend who furrows her eyebrows. "What about us?"

"You _just_ told me a few hours ago that our next big purchase will be a car."

"I don't consider a dog to be a big purchase," Alison tries. " _Plus_ … you're the one who said we should get a Fluffy," she reminds her girlfriend who had practically fallen in love with the three-headed dog in the first Harry Potter movie.

Emily huffs (though impressed that the blonde remembered) and shoots Vincent a "thank you" expression, causing him to laugh again. A second or two later, CeCe gives them a quick "Be right back" as she stands up and walks off towards the bathroom, immediately being followed by both Alison and Mona.

"I'm surprised you're not following them, Han," Emily teases.

"I'm way too full to move," she grimaces. "Why aren't you going?"

Emily just shrugs in response; she's never been one to join in on the "make-up fix" group bathroom breaks.

In the bathroom, Mona and Alison don't bother having any tact; they bombard their other best friend with what sounds like thirty different questions before CeCe can even make it into one of the stalls. She does, however, but the girls' questions don't stop until she finally speaks once she's washing her hands.

"He's a great guy and I'm having fun," she speaks matter-of-factly.

"But is he a _great_ guy or a like a 'Yeah, he's alright' kind of great guy?" Mona's eyes narrow.

"I like him," CeCe nods carefully after a minute, looking back at the mirror.

"Wow," Alison purses her lips. "I won't have to kick Em's ass tonight then."

"Like you'd ever wait for a reason to do that anyway," Mona side-eyes Alison who nods in agreement.

Before Mona and CeCe can walk out, Alison calls them back, wringing her hands a bit in a cautious manner. They stand there, expectant expressions written across their features.

"What is it, Kiddo?" CeCe whispers in a slightly-worried tone.

"It's Elliott—" she begins, though she's cut short by Mona's groan.

"I'm literally going to kill him if he doesn't stop—"

"No, he didn't do anything recently," Alison interrupts, though she's not sure why she's even relatively near defending the man. "Not _very_ recently, I mean."

"Explain," CeCe demands with a protective arm-cross.

"Last week… he sent me a save-the-date," she begins again and her best friends' eyes widen. "Apparently he's marrying whoever-the-fuck."

"Ali," Mona is quick to comfort.

"I'm fine now, honestly. I feel so much better than I did last week. I had a total break down and Em helped me a ton," Alison looks down, whispering the last part. "I just wanted to tell you two because well, obviously, we share everything."

"Yes, we do," CeCe wraps them both in a hug.

" _And_ ," Alison pulls away soon after, "I was hoping that one of you could help me get a restraining order…"

"Of course," the taller blonde nods her head.

"We'll do anything," Mona agrees.

"I have my buddy down at the station, so we can go see him sometime this week," CeCe adds again.

Alison takes a deep breath, allowing a genuine smile to replace her worried features from a few moments prior. The three walk back to the table to find Hanna and Caleb getting ready to leave.

"You're leaving?" Mona pouts.

"Unfortunately," Hanna matches the pout and hugs the other girl. "I'm tired and Caleb has work tomorrow morning."

Hanna moves over to hug CeCe, Alison, and Emily, wrapping her arms around each individual one after another. Caleb walks over to the waitress before they leave, handing her some cash and earning a big "Thank you" from the woman. When she walks by their group, she gives them a quick "You're all set. The other two paid for you. Have a nice night," earning some narrowed eyes and a few _wow_ 's. The rest of the group stays for ten minutes longer before Mona finally says that she needs to call it a night. Of course, Mike drove both her and CeCe, so they get up as well, but, in the end, everyone walks out of the restaurant together.

Mike and Mona say their goodbyes to everyone before walking hand-in-hand to the car, CeCe waiting behind with Vincent. She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, thanks him, and hands the man a piece of paper. Alison watches the exchange out of the corner of her eye and can't help but smile when she sees CeCe _so obviously_ give Vincent her number. Emily nudges her girlfriend with a low humming noise, earning a quick elbow to the side when Alison realizes that she's gloating.

"You have to admit that they're cute," Emily whispers as they watch CeCe and Vincent depart to their separate vehicles.

" _Okay_ , they're cute," Alison admits when a taxi begins to pull up towards her and her girlfriend, "but that doesn't mean he's in the clear just yet."

"You're relentless," the brunette slides into the seat and gives the new driver their destination.

"I know, but for very good reasons," Alison responds coolly.

"Mhm," Emily rolls her eyes. "Did you have a nice time?"

"A really nice time," the blonde intertwines their fingers as they sit in the backseat. "I hope we can do it again soon."

"Me too," the other girl agrees.

The taxi continues to make its way towards their house, weaving through a few side streets before stopping in front of the building. Emily pays the driver and follows her girlfriend, stepping out onto the sidewalk and stretching.

"I'm serious," Alison deadpans. "We're getting a car."

"You barely go anywhere!" Emily stresses with a laugh.

"I'd go out more if we had a damn car."

Emily rolls her eyes again as she waits for Alison to unlock the door, taking a few extra minutes when she misses the keyhole three times. The brunette snickers from behind the other girl, earning the comment "Asshole" as the door finally swings open. Before Emily can step into the hallway, her phone chimes with her text tone.

"Who's that?" Alison questions as she throws her purse onto the hallway table.

"Vincent," Emily sounds confused.

"He thanked me for inviting him," she smirks at Alison who is wearing an impressed expression. "Must have had a really nice time."

" _Mhm_ ," the blonde walks up to her girlfriend and pulls her into the house before closing and locking the door behind them. "I had a really nice time too," she speaks in a sultry tone.

"That's because I'm a great date," Emily smirks when her girlfriend's arms cross behind her neck.

"You're a pain," Alison groans and the other girl chuckles.

"You're the one who was stealing my food all night."

"Deal with it," she kisses the brunette gently before pulling away again. "You get to share with me for the rest of your life."

"I don't remember signing any contracts," Emily smirks against her girlfriend's lips, earning a few nails digging into the back of her neck.

"Okay, Ali, _okay_ ," she bites onto the other girl's bottom lip, releasing it once she feels the sensation stop.

"Say it," Alison backs Emily up against the nearest wall. "Say you love me."

"I love you," the other girl replies honestly before trying to connect their lips again.

"We're not done," the blonde backs up as much as she can without letting her girlfriend escape. "Now, say that you'll love me forever."

"I'll love you forever."

"I'm not convinced," Alison narrows her eyes, and she's caught by surprise when Emily powers out, backing her up against the wall a few feet away.

"I will love you," Emily kisses her lips gently, "forever, and ever," she trails her lips down the girl's jaw line, "and ever," until she reaches the blonde's chest, swiftly moving her hands behind Alison's back in order to unzip the dark-colored dress.

It falls onto the hardwood floor with a soft thud, though most of the rustling is masked with the sound of kissing and a few moans.

"Don't ever get tired of me," Alison looks into Emily's eyes, using her thumb to gently wipe away a few lipstick smudges from the corner of her girlfriend's mouth.

"Never," the brunette whispers back, shaking her head slightly before kissing the other girl again.

* * *

 **Alison is such a cute best friend, and girlfriend, and person, and━**

 **Little notes from this chapter: 1) Eiffel Tower mention, 2) they're finally talking about buying a mthrfkn car, and 3) Alison seems to be getting… better; she's definitely improving, and it makes me happy. Thank you, everyone, for enjoying her character development as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Do you like Vincent? I mean… I, personally, am not a fan of too many "non-canon" characters in fics, but I felt like CeCe needed someone and I think that Vincent is a great fit for her, so I tried to make him as likable as possible. Just be happy for CeCe, k thanks.**

 **A restraining order, huh? So, Alison's really going through with it… Huh. Which one of my readers is throwing the "Freedom From Elliott Rollins" party tonight? I'll bring cupcakes.**

 **By the way, this chapter's ending is probably my favorite one, but two future chapters are definitely up there as well (and I won't tell you which two because I'm evil like that, not that we have many left).**

 **So, an update on my upcoming multi-chapter: Currently, I have 11 chapters written (and, spoiler alert, I just wrote a scene where someone gets slapped), including the three-part prequel (which I'll be uploading in the same document as the main story, because I don't want to throw people off or have them missing pieces). I don't know when I'll be posting the first chapter, but it'll definitely be after this one is finished; I'm taking extra precautions and combing through the new fic, mostly because I need to make sure things add up accordingly. Once Tattooed Memories & Hidden Stories is finished, I'll try and post little one-shots within my "What If (This Happened)?" story, just to hold you over until my new story is out. **

**Ask questions about this story, my next story, and/or send me one-shot ideas.**

 **Okay, I'll see you for the next update (unless you're totally bored of this story, whoops). Next chapter is a good one, and (if my chapters were labeled) I'd call it "Alison's Chapter." She FINALLY gets her own 100% positive-vibe-filled update, and it's one of my favorites.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: I just recently got hit with a huge wave of "OMG this fic is ending soon" and I'm pretty bummed.**

 **I'm glad ya'll (or most of you people) like Vincent. He's a nice guy. I'll be keeping him around, definitely.**

 **Before we get started… I just want to remind everyone of where Alison started off at the beginning of this story: She was extremely guarded, filled herself with alcohol each and every day, and, well, she was pretty hopeless.**

 **Now, read this update and just understand how far she's come, because this chapter really is Alison's chapter (and I trademark that).**

* * *

Emily scrolls through a few social media sites as she leans against the kitchen's center island. It's around 3:30 P.M. on a Friday, and she currently hears the screeching sound of a power drill echoing throughout the house. Sometime during the week, Alison had stood in the living room while facing the house's east wall (that lone brick wall) with her hands on her hips, randomly stating, _"I'm sick of that wall being empty. You know what would look great?"_ she whipped around to come face-to-face with Emily who wore a confused expression, _"some of your artwork,"_ she grinned.

So, a day or two later, Alison called Mona in order to ask for Mike's assistance in drilling a path of holes in the old brick wall so they could insert some heavy-duty nails. Mona was thrilled to be of help and quickly notified Mike who, in turn, texted Emily to say that he'd be stopping by the house sometime around 2 P.M. on Friday. In the meantime (leading up to today), Emily had searched high and low for some of her favorite pieces that would actually go perfectly with the other decor in the house. It wasn't that difficult, actually, since the brunette always kept a giant, cluttered folder with all of her nicer pieces. In the end, she chose four, large canvases adorned with prominent shades, heavy blending, and abstract backgrounds ━ but not _too_ bold. Right after finding the pieces, she showed them to Alison whose eyes bugged with a quiet _"Did you really make these?"_ Emily's heart raced slightly at the response, still not being all that used to someone seeming so in love with her work — aside from her clients, of course.

Mike drills five holes in the wall, each being stuffed with heavy-duty nails and a filling-cement afterwards. The punctures are parallel to the stairwell, being just high enough so wandering shoulders won't be able to knock any pictures down. Emily rounds the corner of the living room's wall to watch Mike finish up with the last nail towards the bottom of the stairs. She admires the fact that he knows exactly how to measure everything, making sure it's all evened out. The nails are perfectly separated, and they lie at the perfect height ━ just like Emily had envisioned it.

"So, what's going where?" Mike asks as he takes a step backwards in order to scope out his work.

Emily moves over to the stack of four paintings and arranges them in order, starting at the one that'll be situated at the top of the stairs and working downwards.

"And what's going on the fifth nail?" he questions, slightly panicking and hoping that he hadn't drilled five by mistake.

"Oh," Emily waves her hand slightly, "don't worry about that. It's a surprise for Alison, so I'll do it by myself."

"Alright, just making sure," Mike breathes out a laugh before taking the first painting and making his way up the stairs.

The brunette chews her inner cheek as she walks back into the kitchen, hearing her text tone right as she approaches her phone that rests upon the island's surface. She checks the new notification and smiles:

" _I hate waiting in lines."_

Rolling her eyes, Emily types out a quick response to her girlfriend who had left the house around noon to spend the day with CeCe.

 **E** — "That's because you're impatient."

 **A** — "And that's never going to change so maybe the world should just hurry the fuck up."

 **A** — "Is Mike still there?"

 **E** — "Yeah. I think he's almost done though."

 **A** — "Does it look nice? :)"

 **E** — "Obviously. It's my work. ;)"

 **A** — "I'm going to stop complimenting your art if you're going to get cocky."

 **E** — "You won't."

 **A** — "You're right. It's really good."

 **E** — "I'm saving that text. :)"

 **A** — "Omg. Bye."

 **E** — "Have fun waiting in line. :*"

When Alison responds for the final time, the text is made up of a string of random letters. Emily shakes her head and places the device back onto the surface of the island. She stares at the countertop and gets lost in thought, hoping that things with Elliott will soon be over since CeCe had taken Alison, first, to the local courthouse. The brunette assumes that's where they are, currently, since the courthouse is normally pretty crowded with various legal issues. When Alison first heard that they were heading out to begin the restraining order process today, she grew nervous and pretty snappy. Emily took the brunt of it, obviously, since she was the only person around during the morning, but she brushed it off; Emily knows how stressed Alison has been (and may be for a while longer, until it goes through). Before the blonde left, however, she gave her girlfriend a bundle of pecks, muttering things such as _"I love you," "Thank you for dealing with me,"_ and _"It'll be over soon."_ That last declaration caught Emily by surprise, actually, since Alison rarely says things with such conviction, but she's happy that the blonde is finally being drawn towards a positive mindset.

Additionally, their relationship had grown in a different way during the last week. They were connected beforehand, that's for sure, but this week has brought them… acceptance, in a way. Alison has accepted that things aren't always going to go her way, but she's also accepted that, sometimes, they will. She's also realized that she _deserves_ things to go her way, and Emily feels like that's a huge step for her girlfriend who, over a month ago, could barely stand on her own two feet. It makes Emily proud to think that Alison, herself, has grown so much in such a short amount of time, and it's all because she's changing her mindset. Sure, Emily is likely a factor that keeps the other girl afloat, but the brunette makes sure to keep her distance at the correct times, just so Alison learns that she _can_ make it on her own.

Emily hears Mike's voice and she lifts her head to see him motioning for her to follow. When she walks in his direction, she faces the wall to see her artwork displayed so precisely, making her jaw drop slightly.

"Wow," she breathes out. "Thank you so much. It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it. The nails are super sturdy, so nothing should ever knock the pictures down, but let me know if a wrecking ball flies through the house because then I _may_ have to come back," he jokes and Emily laughs.

"How much do I owe you?" the brunette asks Mike while moving towards her wallet on the hallway table.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Seriously, Mike," Emily rolls her eyes and hands him three twenty dollar bills. "Here. Those nails didn't look cheap and I'm sure Mona will be asking you to take her out sometime soon."

"Emily, really, it's—"

"Thank you," she cuts him off with a stern expression and then laughs when he raises his hands in surrender. "Do you want to stay and hang out?"

"Actually, I have to stop by my company's headquarters before heading home, so," Mike sighs. "But I hope you enjoy your wall and I hope your little surprise goes well. Let me know if you need any more help."

Emily nods her head in thanks again as Mike picks up his bucket of tools and walks out of the house. The brunette makes sure he gets to his car easily, just in case he needs some help with the tools. Once he's in his car, she shuts the door and admires the wall again before walking back into the kitchen to grab her phone off of the countertop.

Sighing when realizing that there's nothing else for her to do in the time-being, she plops down onto the couch and grabs the remote, turning the TV on. Of course, a Ghost Adventures marathon is playing since it's Friday, and she chuckles while shaking her head at the program. Before Emily can get too into the show, however, her phone begins to ring. Her forehead crinkles when she reads the caller-ID, her parents' house phone number popping up.

"Hello?" she answers, her eyes darting around the room.

" _Good afternoon,_ " her mother's cheery voice flows through the speaker.

"Hey, Mom," Emily sits up straight, resting her back against the couch cushions.

" _And Dad,_ " her father's voice comes forth. " _You're on speaker, Emmy._ "

"Oh, okay," she chuckles.

" _We just wanted to call and check in on you,_ " Wayne speaks again. " _How is everything?_ "

"Everything is… good," Emily nods more so to herself. "Great, really."

" _Is that 'great' because of your girlfriend?_ " he speaks again, a knowing tone laced within the question.

Emily blushes; she hasn't exactly spoken to her parents as of late (well, not a ton), but she's sure that they've been able to pick up on her mounting happiness because she's not that good at hiding it. Her parents have only made small talk with her ever since their hospital visit, and Emily assumes that it's because her mother has been feeling guilty for what she had said during their short time in Emily's hospital room. The only big conversation that they've had in recent weeks revolved around Emily's move into Alison's house, making sure that the couple is serious enough in order to make this big step. Emily had rolled her eyes many times during the call, but they seemed pretty accepting of it — and maybe even more worried about Hanna's whereabouts.

"Mhm," Emily tells the truth.

" _So, life with her has been going well?_ " Pam speaks now, no negative tone in her voice.

"Very. I'm happy. We're happy."

" _Good,_ " her mother's voice is soft.

" _And she's treating you well?_ " Mr. Fields speaks again in a protective manner.

"Yes," Emily smiles, though they can't see. "She's done nothing but make sure that I'm taken care of and comfortable here. It's nice."

" _Then that's all we can ask for,_ " he responds.

" _Do you take care of her, as well?_ " Pam asks after a moment of silence between them all, and the question catches Emily off-guard; her mother has never shown any real interest in how Emily treats others — only how others treat her daughter.

"I do. I love her," Emily is timid to admit it to her parents, but she pushes herself to say those three words and she can actually hear her mother take a breath over the phone.

A long silence fills the line again, but the brunette doesn't panic; she doesn't really care if they don't approve. She knows that it's real, and—

" _You should bring Alison to visit us,_ " Pam puts the offer on the table. " _We'd love to spend some time with the two of you and I'm sure she'd love to see your hometown._ "

"I'll have to ask her when she gets home," Emily bites her lower lip, clearly not expecting the invitation.

" _Please do, honey,_ " Mrs. Fields pleads. " _And… I just want to apologize for a few weeks ago. I didn't mean to step on any toes. We come from different worlds, I suppose, and I'm just very sorry for what I said._ "

" _We'll always try to understand, Emmy, and I hope you know that,_ " Wayne adds. " _Your decisions are your decisions, and we may not agree with them, especially the tattoos…_ " his voice trails off, " _but we'll try to bite our tongues._ "

"Thank you," is all Emily can say; she feels… conflicted, honestly.

It's hard to push aside everything negative that they've said during her time as a tattoo artist, especially when all she wanted was their support, but she knows that they aren't the _worst_ parents; they just come from two different worlds, like her mother said, and they definitely don't see eye to eye. On the other hand, it doesn't give them an excuse to pull Emily back and forth, choosing when she can and cannot be independent; they say "Your decisions are your decisions" now, but it doesn't mean that they'll follow through and use that mindset when the time finally comes. This, actually, is one of the reasons why Emily is hesitant about inviting Alison back to her hometown in the first place; what if they get there and shit goes down right off the bat?

" _Well, we'll let you go,_ " Mr. Fields breaks the silence.

" _Please consider the offer to bring Alison here to visit, and let me know,_ " Emily's mother adds.

"I will," Emily responds.

" _We'll talk again soon,_ " Wayne speaks again. " _You and Alison take care. Love you._ "

"Love you too."

The call ends a second later, and Emily rests the phone on her leg as she leans her head back, taking a deep breath. She rubs at her eyes slightly and continues to internally debate whether or not she should ask Alison if she'd like to visit Pennsylvania. Part of her wants Alison to happily tag along, but the other part of her wants Alison to be hesitant and maybe even decline the offer. It's not that Emily doesn't want Alison to love her parents; honestly, she'd be relieved if Alison ended up feeling like she has a pair of real parents. The brunette is just timid; what if they say something that offends her? Emily feels so much for Alison that she doesn't want to risk anything ruining what they have, but she also worries that not inviting Alison could, potentially, ruin them as well; it's ultimately the blonde's decision.

The brunette's thoughts are broken up when she hears a knock at the door. Her eyebrows furrow when she checks the time: 4:07 P.M. Alison shouldn't be home by now, especially judging from the way she had stressed about how much she hates lines in her recent texts. Getting off of the couch, Emily curiously makes her way over to the front door and unlocks it, opening the wooden barrier to reveal another blonde, none other than Hanna Marin who is wearing the cheesiest smile.

"Good, you're home," she steps through the doorway almost immediately, admiring the house's interior.

"What are you doing here?" Emily questions and Hanna frowns in offense. "I don't mean it in a bad way," she breathes out, "but… is there a specific reason?"

"I got bored at home. Caleb had to go somewhere businessy for the entire day so I'm alone until sometime tonight," Hanna explains as she continues to look around. "But I decided to surprise you with my presence until then."

" _Mhm_ ," Emily nods. "Wait, have you ever been in here before?"

"Yes, _dummy_ ," the blonde walks into the living room. "Remember when I came for Alison's birthday? I said, 'This place looks so much bigger in real life,' and you rolled your eyes," her eyes widen and Emily rolls her eyes at the expression.

"Yeah, just like that," Hanna laughs, but her reaction dies down when she looks towards the loft. "Has that always been there?"

Before Emily can respond, the other girl is flashing a wide smirk.

"Is that where the magic happens?"

The brunette rolls her eyes again and chuckles, following the other girl further into the living room.

"Do you want anything to drink or…?" she questions and Hanna shakes her head before sitting on the couch.

Emily follows suit and sits nearby, laughing at Hanna who (now that she _actually_ remembers) always looks at the large windows so enthusiastically.

"Mom and Dad want me and Alison to visit them," Emily confesses almost straight away, Hanna's eyes snapping to her best friend's.

"And are you going to?"

"I'm not sure," the brunette bites her inner cheek. "I think I'll ask Alison if she wants to, but I won't push it if she doesn't."

"Good. I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't want to go. Does she even know what they said at the hospital?"

"No," Emily shakes her head and looks down at her hands. "I didn't think it was important enough to tell her. Their opinions don't matter."

"I get it, Em. I'm not telling you to tell Alison what they said because, honestly, I think it'll just make her feel shitty for absolutely _no_ reason, but still. Do _you_ want to go and visit?" Hanna wonders and turns her body so she's facing the other girl.

"I'm torn. Obviously I miss them and I want them to get to know Alison, but I don't want them to… say something or…" her voice trails off and she shakes her head. "Alison doesn't need any more negativity from people who are supposed to be considered family, you know?"

"I think you should ask Alison how she feels about it and, who knows, maybe she'll surprise you and you'll be leaving tomorrow," Hanna shrugs and Emily shudders.

"I am _not_ going tomorrow."

The other girl snorts when Emily continues to make faces. They've both missed spending this kind of quality time together — just them two. Before the room grows too quiet, Hanna speaks up again, a cheerier tone than moments before.

"Speaking of Alison… I _also_ have an offer for her," she grins and Emily's head tilts in curiosity.

X X X

The clock reads 5:05 P.M. as they finally walk out of the courthouse after hours of complaining from both Alison and CeCe. At first, the taller blonde had scolded Alison for groaning after the first hour, hissing, _"We haven't even been here that long, shush,"_ and earning another long groan. After another hour, however, CeCe grew impatient — and hungry (which was the root of most of her complaints). Eventually, they found a clerk and CeCe explained the situation (knowing full well that Alison wouldn't be able to get the words out); she told the man that she was instructed by a close friend at the sheriff's department that they should go to the local courthouse and, after careful explanation in a corner office, the man agreed they'd begin the process and get it done as quickly as possible.

At first, he had asked for several forms of evidence, and Alison began to panic a little; _"Evidence? Like what?"_ her jaw dropped. At that, the man expanded, _"We need to know that Mr. Rollins has been specifically targeting you, and there aren't any coincidences."_ Before Alison could open her mouth again, however, CeCe intervened, slightly raising her voice and throwing out receipt after receipt; Alison could tell that her best friend has been done with Elliott's dumb ass for a while now. So, in the end, he seemed a bit afraid of the taller girl, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms with a quick, _"Okay, Miss DiLaurentis. We'll get this solidified as fast as possible and we'll be in touch. Take it easy."_ Alison breathed out a sigh of slight relief once they had walked out of the small office, CeCe's reassuring hand resting on her shoulder.

"It's too bad Mona couldn't make it," CeCe smirks and eyes Alison before ducking her head to slide into the driver's seat. "She would have _lost it_ on that man."

"Real quick," Alison agrees while she fastens her seatbelt next to the other girl. "I'm surprised you didn't."

"I figured we wouldn't have gotten anywhere good if I went apeshit on him," she confesses as she backs out of the parking space. "I was close, though."

"Thank you for doing this, Ce."

"You know I'd purchase the entire country of Guatemala if it meant Elliott would be out of our lives once and for all," she mumbles as she pulls onto the main road.

Alison looks down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers quietly. CeCe looks over and can practically feel Alison's doubts and _what if_ 's swirling, so she speaks again.

"Everything will work out, Ali."

"But what if the restraining order attempt falls through? Then what? I can't keep living in fear that he'll pop out of the woodwork wherever I go," Alison leans her head against the headrest and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, let's say it does, by some gift from hell, fall through…" CeCe goes along with the other girl's doubts and Alison noticeably shifts in her seat. "I'll make sure it goes through a second time. I'll pull whatever strings I have to, and I'll keep you safe, alright? I have friends in all the right places, Kiddo, I promise you."

"I just feel bad…" Alison shakes her head. "I brought this shit upon everyone. You, Mona, and Emily. I'm so sorry I never listened to you and Mona, Ce. I'm so sorry," Alison's voice slightly cracks and her throat tightens up.

CeCe notices the trace of tears springing to the other girl's eyes and she reaches over the center console to grab her hand in support.

"Alison, we're with you through everything. Don't forget that. It's not your fault that this guy's dedicated his entire life to being a slimy cockroach."

Alison looks down again, biting her inner cheek as she stares out the window. CeCe can still see Alison's body language out of the corner of her eye, so she speaks with more conviction.

"It's almost over. You're almost rid of him."

At that, for whatever reason, everything hits Alison all at once. Her eyes snap towards CeCe and a small smile begins to form, finally realizing that, well, it's true; Rollins is almost out of her life — for good. _Legally_. It feels so fucking good, Alison lets out a small laugh and CeCe looks over, smiling a bit herself, though she's confused about the sudden change in attitude from the other girl.

"So, where are we going now?" Alison questions as she looks at their surroundings.

"Shopping," CeCe sings.

"Didn't we _just_ go shopping?"

"Um," the other girl shoots Alison a look, "like a week ago, yeah. I need a new outfit for my upcoming date, thank you very much."

"With _Vincent_?" Alison teases, smirking heavily when CeCe just lets out a scandalous humming noise. "And how's _that_ going?"

"Very…" CeCe begins, pressing her tongue to the inside of her cheek and laughing when she can't come up with an accurate word. "Wonderful."

"Wow," Alison raises her eyebrows and looks out the front window.

"And I met his pup, Violet," CeCe informs. "She's such a sweetie. When I first got there, she was just sitting by the door, but I sat on the couch and she curled up next to me. Wouldn't give Vincent any love after that," she laughs as she turns into the mall's parking lot.

"Did _you_ give him any love?" Alison does her best to become invasive like CeCe had always done to her.

"I don't kiss and tell."

"CeCe," the other girl's jaw drops. "Does Mona know?"

"Are you kidding me? She called me _right_ as I stepped out of his house. I had to ask her if she was peeping through the damn windows."

Alison lets out a loud laugh as they exit the vehicle. As they're walking through the lines of cars, CeCe starts giggling to herself, earning an arched eyebrow from the girl next to her.

"What are you laughing about?"

"I just… can you thank Emily for me?" the taller blonde grins when Alison rolls her eyes with a huff. "Aw, Ali, don't be jealous that your girlfriend is a better wingman."

At the comment, Alison rolls her eyes even harder, bumping her hip forcefully against the other girl who wobbles to the side for a moment with a squeak.

Their mall trip ends up being super fun and refreshing (albeit extensive and a bit tiring). CeCe tries on clothing item after clothing item, alternating between wanting to wear a dress or something simple yet elegant. Alison helps out as much as she can, providing the other girl with an array of stylish options and anything that will compliment her frame. They also discuss hairstyle options, mutually agreeing that CeCe would look beautiful with her hair in a classy yet messy bun.

"It's even nicer-looking once you take it down at night,"Alison purses her lips at one point during their shopping trip.

CeCe rolls her eyes at the comment, continuing to fly through different racks of clothes. Eventually, she settles on a nice, partly-floral dress with a darker top-half. Alison falls in love with it first, practically forcing CeCe into the piece of clothing. Much to her pleasure, the other girl loves it just as much and ends up buying it, concluding their search for her date attire.

They pick up something to eat while they're at the mall after they catch the time and see that it's already 7 P.M. It doesn't take long, however, before the two are walking the length of the local mall once again, heading into one of the large craft stores.

"Why are we here again?" CeCe snorts.

"I want to buy Em some art supplies. I'm sure she has some _somewhere_ , but I've never found anything," Alison shrugs as she walks towards the paint aisle.

She groans soon, quickly figuring out that there's an endless number of paint types, kits, and colors. In the end and after careful deliberation, she purchases a small kit with an assortment of acrylic paints and another with watercolors, hoping they aren't too mediocre for her creative girlfriend — if she doesn't like them, Alison decides she'll have to take up painting.

After their craft store visit, the two both shrug at the same time with matching sighs, looking at one another and silently agreeing that it's time to leave since it's now 7:25 P.M. They walk to the car as fast as they can, though their legs feel tired from the long day of standing and waiting around. Once making it to CeCe's car, she pops the trunk and they toss their bags into the area before shutting it and getting settled in their seats.

"Thanks for always being my shopping buddy," the taller girl flashes Alison a smile before fixing her rearview mirror.

"Of course," Alison's voice is cheery.

CeCe puts the car in reverse and backs up before carefully pulling into the seemingly heavy traffic near the mall. They sit at a standstill for five minutes, much to their discontent, and CeCe sighs.

"It's seven-thirty at night. Why is it so cramped?" she huffs.

"Well, it _is_ Friday," Alison reminds, earning a look of realization from the other girl.

They remain sitting in traffic, moving occasionally as the lines merge and some separate further ahead. Alison hums softly to whatever song is playing on the radio, until CeCe speaks again.

"How's Emily? You didn't mention her a ton tonight."

"I was trying to keep the focus on you," Alison eyes her friend with a soft grin, knowing she's been caught.

"Thank you," CeCe rolls her eyes, "but you don't need to bite your tongue. I know you're dying to talk about her, and I'm more than happy to listen. So, how is she?"

"She's so amazing," Alison gushes, leaning back and closing her eyes.

"No fantasizing in my car, please," CeCe teases and gets punched in the thigh.

"I'm just happy," she confesses in a slightly embarrassed tone. "Things have progressed so quickly between Em and I, but it never feels rushed, you know? It feels… _right_."

"How did you two meet, again? You only told me bits and pieces a while ago," CeCe's eyebrows furrow as she looks at Alison who bites her lower lip and chuckles gently.

"I went into the shop one night and asked for a tattoo," she shrugs, not immediately offering any other information — _purposely_. "Well… _demanded_."

"Mhm, I got _that_ much," CeCe laughs as they pull onto another main road. "But… you didn't get a tattoo, did you?"

"No. Emily said she couldn't tattoo me because I wasn't sober," Alison looks down towards her hands in partial embarrassment; she still loathes herself for tainting their first meeting.

"Okay," the other girl nods with squinted eyes, though she isn't exactly fully understanding how the entire confrontation came about. "What happened then?"

"After she refused to tattoo me, she told me that I could stay in the shop until closing time, so I did. Once it was time for her to leave, she walked me home."

"Damn, Alison, you were _that_ …gone?" CeCe's eyes widen, referring to Alison's former drunken state.

"I don't know, honestly."

"How do you not know? Like… you don't remember?"

"No," Alison huffs when she tries to elaborate. "You know that feeling when you can remember everything that happened while you weren't sober, but you still feel like you're missing bits and pieces, even though they may or may not exist?"

"I guess," CeCe raises an eyebrow at the explanation.

"I don't remember how 'gone' I was, but she wanted to walk me home, and I didn't tell her that she didn't need to because she was so… _caring_ , and I liked it. It was new," Alison's voice fades towards the end.

"You didn't ask her to walk you home?"

"No," Alison shrugs a little. "It was past eleven and I felt nervous, so I wasn't planning on it."

"She must have been drawn to you too if she willingly walked a drunken stranger back to their place after eleven," CeCe muses, a grin on her face when she turns her head to see Alison wearing a dopey smile as she looks down again.

"I was staying in one of the nearby hotels at the time. She walked me up to my room."

"And she didn't come in?"

"I offered, but she just gave me her number and told me to call or message if I needed anything."

" _Wow_ ," the taller girl is impressed by Emily's actions. "That's… really sweet, actually."

"Honestly, I debated on texting her that night but, by the time she got home, it was probably near twelve-thirty, so I forced myself to sleep. I didn't get much of it, though," Alison mumbles the last part.

"Someone had a crush real quick," CeCe teases and Alison blushes, not bothering to deny it.

"It was a different feeling. I felt warm, and it wasn't because of the alcohol," her voice grows quiet as she remembers the feelings that stirred in her stomach that night (well, technically morning).

"Her cheesiness is rubbing off on you, Kiddo," CeCe warns with a knowing smile.

" _Stop_ ," Alison whines. "Don't say that."

"It's too late. I already did."

A wave of silence fills the vehicle as the traffic finally smoothes out. Alison stares out the passenger side's window, another thought coming to mind before she decides to voice it, trusting that CeCe won't judge her if she somehow gets emotional.

"I thought I had ruined my chances with Em after I stormed out on her. I only told you and Mona a little of what happened," Alison's tone is monotonous with a small tinge of regret laced into it.

"We fought because of my drinking, yes, but it didn't help when I basically told her that I don't need her, and that she shouldn't expect me to listen to her opinions just because she was taking care of me."

The taller blonde looks over at Alison who wears an unreadable expression, almost like she's replaying that night's events.

"But, for some reason, I didn't have the heart to _tell_ her to leave. I just… gave her the option to stay or go. That's why I thought that she was ignoring me, because I walked out right after I gave her the option. That's why I gave you my phone."

"You know that she was just trying to protect you, Ali."

"No, I know that _now_ , but I couldn't realize that back then for whatever reason," she shakes her head. "I thought she was going to give up on me and, although I practically told her to, I didn't really want that. I'm surprised she didn't…"

"I'm not surprised," CeCe speaks honestly, looking over at the other girl once again.

When Alison just stares back at her, forehead slightly creased in confusion, she expands on the comment.

"The first night that Mona and I met her… after you invited her over without telling us," CeCe side-eyes Alison, "I think we both just… _knew_."

"Knew what?"

"She's your person. You two came together so randomly and she has such a big heart, and I think that's what you've always needed."

The taller girl takes a deep breath, "It's hard for me, personally, to watch you fall in love with someone, just because I'm so protective and I've seen what's happened in previous cases, but I just… I know she's _for_ you, Alison, and even if you hadn't fallen for her so quickly, she'd still be for you."

Alison swallows hard, not really knowing how to respond; she loves the fact that the girls she considers to be family have taken such a huge liking to the girl that she's fallen in love with, no doubt there, but there's still so much weight laced into CeCe's words: she approves, quite frankly, and it's hitting Alison.

"Do you think I'm for her?" Alison speaks quietly. "Do you think I can be what she deserves?"

"There are no doubts in my mind, Alison. You are so much more real with that girl around. It's nice."

The other girl smiles, sniffling a little, though the teary-eyes have grown more clear in the last few seconds.

" _And_ ," CeCe adds with a gentle laugh, "you know there's something really there when Mona hasn't attempted to kill her yet. She's actually had a few, sweet, one-on-one conversations with Emily. It was strange to see, I must admit, but Mona spoke to her a lot the first night we met."

"I don't remember," Alison shrugs.

"I think you were passed out."

"Of course I was," she groans. "What'd they talk about?"

"You," CeCe mimics Alison's shrug while keeping her hands on the wheel.

" _Of course_ ," Alison groans again, louder. "What about me?"

"Emily just told us that she's taking care of you because she wants to, and Mona said that she believed her which, honestly, was a ' _wow'_ moment."

Alison nods her head quietly, staring out the window as they begin to near her house. They stop at another red light, sitting in silence for the first time in a while but, of course, CeCe speaks up again — not that Alison's complaining much; she's just tired.

"Hey, you said that you went into No End to get a tattoo that night, yet didn't get one…"

"Yes…" Alison side-eyes the other girl.

"Do you ever wish you _had_ gotten one that night?"

"Definitely not one that has anything to do with Elliott," she breathes out a bitter laugh. "I mean… I've thought about it. I want to know what it feels like, and I have an idea in mind."

"Go for it," CeCe glances in Alison's direction one last time before she pulls into the small lot across from Alison's house. "Do I get to hear this idea?"

"Nope," Alison smiles largely as she bounces out of the car and digs through the trunk to get the two paint kits.

CeCe rolls her eyes as she closes the vehicle's trunk, following Alison who crosses the street with ease. It's now 8:06 P.M., and the streets are already growing darker, aside from the faint glow of various street lights and the small lamp near the door. Alison twists the doorknob and pushes it open, entering the house to hear a small conversation going on in the room adjacent.

Alison looks backwards to see CeCe walking up the steps slowly, paying more attention to her phone screen until she shoves it back into her pocket.

"Those are new," the taller blonde nods towards the pictures that Alison had totally missed.

"They're perfect," Alison smiles.

"Who's here?" Emily partially sings from the living room followed by a snort from Hanna who lounges next to her.

"Hey, you," Alison walks behind the couch and leans over to give her girlfriend a quick kiss before placing the bag on the kitchen island. "Hanna, when did you get here?"

"A while ago," the third blonde shrugs as CeCe sits down on the piano's bench across from the couch. "Caleb was busy all day and I figured Em missed me."

"She does," Alison confirms while she grabs a water bottle from the fridge before walking back to the others.

"So do I," she adds when she practically sits down on Emily's lap, though she only meant to sit super close — kind of.

"Suck up," Emily mumbles while rolling her eyes.

"You missed me," Alison smirks and rests her head against her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Yeah," the brunette sighs in admission.

As Hanna bounces her eyebrows at Emily, she earns a swift poke to the ribs, grunting in displeasure while CeCe snickers from the bench. A silence falls over them as Alison blinks a few times after hearing the tallest blonde yawn nearby.

"Oh, Alison," Hanna speaks suddenly, startling all three of the other girls. "Sorry," she giggles when she watched the group jump. "I have a proposal for you."

"Sorry, Han, I'm happily taken," Alison jokes as she sits up straight, turning her body to face Hanna whose face straightens into a "seriously" kind of expression while CeCe rolls her eyes, briefly looking up from her phone.

"A day or so ago… I think," Hanna squints as she looks towards the ceiling as if it will give her an answer, "I mentioned to my new boss, well… same-ole-boss, really—"

"Can you just—"

"Don't interrupt me, Fields," Hanna scolds with a sharp glare.

Emily rolls her eyes before leaning her head backwards, closing her eyes as Hanna continues.

"Anyway, I told her that you write little columns and articles, so she checked out your work and loved it. She wanted me to offer you a writing job for our company. Basically it's like what you do now, but more so about fashion," she explains. "What's in, what's out, what'll never happen, what probably will. Anything that catches your eye, really."

Alison's eyes widen and Emily smiles after seeing her girlfriend's expression. CeCe matches Emily's smile and pays attention to Alison's following reaction: she seems speechless and hesitant, and CeCe can tell she's thinking of turning it down, especially when Alison's eyes flicker to hers, almost like she feels guilty.

"Don't say no to this opportunity because you feel guilty, Ali," CeCe interjects. "I'm going to take this job if you don't."

Alison takes a deep, shaky breath, but ends it with a smile, looking towards Hanna and giving her a solid nod.

"Okay," she says.

"Okay?" Hanna beams. "Great! I'll have to talk to her tomorrow and I'll let you know whatever else. I'm so happy."

Emily chuckles at her best friend's excitement and grabs her girlfriend's hand, bringing it up to her lips to kiss the blonde's knuckles quickly. CeCe smiles at the couple, mostly trying to be discreet about the glance, however. The group of four discusses the new job extensively, learning that it pays far more than Alison's small position with CeCe's company. Although Alison still feels a bit guilty, her nerves calm down when she remembers how happy her best friend is to go to work every day; it's not like she's unwillingly working there. In fact, she's been promoted fairly recently, and her hours are perfect. It works out, in the end, because it's not like they're all stuck in shitty jobs; surprisingly, everyone enjoys what they do.

Once everyone leaves (CeCe and Hanna being "everyone"), it's already 9:50 P.M. The couple remains sitting on the couch, though they had momentarily stood up to share a round of hugs. They quietly play with each other's fingers, occasionally stopping to kiss and whisper sweet-nothing's to one another. Randomly, however, Alison breaks up the tranquility and stands up, earning a discontent whimper from her girlfriend. She rolls her eyes and chuckles as she walks over to the center island, grabs the bag, and brings it to the brunette who grunts when it lands in her lap.

"What's this?" she arches an eyebrow while using a finger to peek into the bag.

"Open it," Alison mimics her arched eyebrow and speaks like it's so obvious.

Emily narrows her eyes at the other girl's tone before following directions, peeling the bag open and pulling out some painting kits as she flashes Alison a smile.

"Is this you trying to tell me that I need to paint more?"

"Not exactly," Alison breathes out a laugh as she plops herself back onto the couch, snuggling up to her girlfriend's side. "I wasn't sure if you had anything in the house, so I bought you some just in case."

"Thank you," Emily kisses her softly. "I love you," she gives her another short peck on the lips.

"I love you too," Alison smiles into their next kiss, which turns into a much deeper lip-lock than intended.

The blonde backs up, a bit dazed, rubbing her lips together and blushing as she looks down. The corner of Emily's mouth turns upwards into a tiny smirk, though she also has to blink a few times in order to come back down to earth.

"So, um," Alison clears her throat with a tiny laugh, "your artwork looks beautiful up there," she nods towards the brick wall.

"Mhm," Emily hums in agreement, looking in the same direction.

"There's an empty space though," Alison's eyebrows furrow slightly, both in accusation and confusion.

"I know. It's a surprise," the other girl's voice is slightly shaky. "Wait here," she breathes out as she pushes her body off the couch and runs upstairs.

Alison's eyes follow Emily before she's out of sight. She takes a deep breath and props her legs onto the couch so she can get comfortable. In the distance, she hears a few knocking sounds and the echo of the closet door shutting before Emily speed-walks down the stairs, a large, black felt-covered rectangle in her arms. Once making it back into the living room, she rests the fabric-covered rectangle on the piano's bench as she stands next to it, making sure the decoration doesn't fall.

"Are you ready?" Emily asks quietly when Alison's eyes are staring into hers.

Both girls' hearts are beating heavily and Alison is barely breathing. Emily's hands shake slightly, waiting for the other girl's response. When she gets a firm head nod, Emily takes a deep breath and slowly unwraps the new piece of artwork. Alison's jaw drops partially and tears fill the bottom of her eyes when she sees what Emily had gotten for the wall's empty space: a black-framed, blown-up music sheet adorned with the notes of her favorite, custom, childhood tune. It has her own, young handwriting at the top, her name's _i_ 's dotted with small, cliché hearts, bottomed by a few scribbles when she couldn't figure out what note would sound best at what time.

The blonde swallows hard while a single tear falls, a big smile crossing her features as she makes her way towards the new decoration, immediately kneeling in front of it so she can check out the piece further.

"How…" she breathes out, though she can't finish her sentence.

"I found your old piano books in a crate over there," Emily nods towards the corner of the room, just tucked into the fireplace. "You had a crumpled up music sheet in one of them and it looked pretty worn out… like it's important, so I figured it must be. Do you like it?"

Alison stands up and gently cups her girlfriend's face, bringing her closer for a soft yet passionate kiss. When the blonde backs up, she places one last kiss to Emily's nose before looking at the frame again.

"I love it so much," she breathes out, a smile still painted across her features. "It's so perfect."

Another few tears fall and Emily smiles at the overwhelming emotion.

"Do you want me to hang it up?" the brunette tilts her head with a knowing grin.

"If you don't break it, yes," Alison follows her girlfriend over to the brick wall, a few steps away from the stair's landing.

"I get two minutes of pure love before you're already back to teasing me?" Emily quirks an eyebrow, the new decoration resting in her arms.

"You're lucky you got two minutes."

"I am lucky," Emily admits, "but that's not the reason why."

Alison rolls her eyes at the cheesiness, obviously waiting for her girlfriend to hang the frame on the exposed, black nail. When she shoots Emily an impatient glare, the brunette snorts and securely fastens the artwork on the wall, carefully making sure it's attached to the nail. She backs up slightly before stepping forward once again, straightening the frame and nodding in approval when it isn't tilted anymore.

The couple takes a few in-sync steps backwards, standing partially in the living room as they stare at the new line of artwork, a perfect array of Emily's pieces, ending with Alison's surprise decoration. The blonde turns to her girlfriend and presses another kiss to her cheek, whispering a small "Thank you" before turning back in her previous position. Emily wraps her arm around the other girl's waist and pulls her closer, mumbling a short "You're welcome."

After a while, Alison's legs grow tired again and she grunts, turning around and practically throwing herself back onto the couch as Emily chuckles at her dramatics. The brunette sits down shortly after, pulling Alison's legs into her lap so she can stretch out.

" _So_ ," Emily chews her inner cheek as she drags the word out, "my parents called today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm," she rubs at her girlfriend's legs. "They want us to visit them in Rosewood. They want to get to know you," her voice fades.

Alison takes a deep breath while she closes her eyes, re-opening one shortly after. She blinks twice and rolls her neck, Emily side-eying her the entire time.

"We don't have to—" Emily gets cut off.

"We can go," Alison interrupts. "If it makes you happy, then of course we can visit them."

"I don't want you to feel like you have to come, Ali. I don't want you to be uncomfortable considering your relationship with your own family."

"Babe, our parents are nothing alike."

"I know," Emily huffs. "I just don't want them to say anything or come off too… narrow-minded. I want you to feel loved."

"You do make me feel loved," she sits up and forces herself onto Emily's lap, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "I want to go, Em. I can't promise that I won't release my inner bitch if your mom says something that _really_ ticks me off, but I want to get to know them too."

"Okay," Emily breathes out, staring across the room.

"Oh," Alison purses her lips, "but if they heavily judge your tattoos like last time, I won't be happy."

"You should probably just get used to that."

"I'll never get used to someone judging you for anything. I'm way too protective," Alison confesses.

"They're just—"

"Traditional? Old-fashioned?" Alison mocks Emily's words from when they had first started hanging out. "I don't care what their story is, Em. No offense to you, but they can't judge your personality and interests forever."

"I know," Emily sighs while Alison plays with her hair, still sitting in her lap.

"We'll visit though," the blonde whispers again. "I mean… I'll probably have to get along with them sooner or later anyway since they'll be at our wedding," she flashes her signature smirk when Emily's eyes immediately connect with hers.

They maintain eye contact, Alison's smirk growing until she winks, causing Emily's lips to part slightly. When the brunette still doesn't speak (or blink, really), Alison rolls her eyes and breathes out a laugh as she leans backwards, laying down against the cushions again.

"I'm just kidding. Calm down," she giggles and Emily's eyes narrow dangerously with a smirk of her own.

"Are you _sure_ that you're kidding?"

"Maybe I am," Alison coos. "Maybe I'm not," she shrugs.

Instead of responding, Emily pushes Alison's legs off of her lap and pounces onto her, tickling the blonde's sides and earning a trail of laughter and a few _okay_ 's and _stopstopstop_ 's. Emily arches an eyebrow at the panting girl beneath her until Alison swallows hard, grunting when Emily forces herself to become dead weight on top of the other girl. The brunette puts her leg on the ground, making sure to let the other girl breathe a bit. She smirks again when Alison glares at her, though her eyes flicker between Emily's brown eyes and lips.

Without waiting too much longer, Alison cranes her neck upwards and connects their lips, her hands cupping Emily's jaw as she deepens the kiss. The brunette smiles against the other girl's mouth until she backs up, earning a small whine and pout.

"You weren't kidding," Emily whispers with a cute, genuine smile.

"No," Alison's voice is barely audible, and her eyes flicker back and forth again.

"Good," the brunette gently nods before leaning back in, kissing her girlfriend more and more as the minutes progress and the night rolls on.

* * *

 **Them heart-to-heart feels. That's my favorite part. What was yours?**

 **So, yes, we're going to see Emily's parents again… one last time before the story ends. It's going to be a conflicting visit, but you'll finally get to see Emily's internal struggles when it comes to dealing with her parents (and her mother, more specifically). I'm sure some of you will have different views on the visit, but that's a good thing.**

 **I think Alison deserved this chapter. She's been pulled back and forth throughout this entire story (*side-eying myself*), and this update brought her comfort, a new job, more happiness, etc.**

 **I'm very excited for next chapter. Like I said previously, these ending chapters really tie things together and I'm stoked for you to read them. (Spoiler alert) Next chapter, I'll be showing you my favorite flashback of jealous Emily, and there's an encounter that's probably not all that expected. Also… acrylic paint, macchiatos, and fort-making (which, by the way, is my definition of a dream date).**

 **Before I go, I have (possibly) exciting news. I actually wrote an epilogue chapter for this story, so even though Ch 20 ends nicely, the epilogue will completely tie things together.**

 **Alright, next update will come sometime this weekend (hopefully). These last few updates are going to come pretty quick, so enjoy them while you can!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: Howdy, howdy.**

 **For those who've been missing chapters between just Emily and Alison, you're in for a nice treat today! This chapter is 90% completely Emison, aside from flashbacks and one other conversation. (Side note: It's also one of my absolute favorite chapters, because it's extremely #aesthetic, and I know I use the word "favorite" often, but legit this time. You'll understand after).**

 **Lettuce begin. (I'm writing this author's note at 1 A.M. so just… read).**

* * *

Another full week (well, _technically_ six days) passes by pretty quickly — but not quick enough, if you were to ask either Emily or Alison. At the same time, however, the days dragged on, but that's only because the two had called Emily's parents on Saturday night, telling them that they'll be visiting sometime. _"Is chicken dinner okay?"_ Pam asked over the call, earning an enthusiastic _"That'd be great"_ from Alison, drawing out a laugh from the older woman on the other line. Emily was originally surprised when Alison asked to talk to her mother, but she shrugged and handed the phone over to the blonde who seemingly had a nice chat with the woman. In the end, Emily's parents, Emily, and Alison agreed on a nice Sunday dinner (actually, an early dinner due to Emily's Monday work hours), and, though the couple is excited to pay a visit to Emily's hometown in three days, they're also extremely nervous.

Along with these plans being made last Saturday, Hanna also called her boss, notified the woman that Alison had accepted the offer, and hooked her new, blonde co-worker up with their boss' number. Alison, though nervous to call at first, dialed the number and hit it off with her new employer, earning a quick applause for the work with her previous company. Towards the end of the call, Alison was told her starting date (two weeks from Monday), her work hours (which coordinate with Emily's almost _perfectly_ ), and her pay (which doubled). After hanging up, she was a majorly happy camper, peppering her girlfriend with kisses for hours.

" _Since I'm going to have to be traveling to work pretty often…"_ Alison started with a sweet tone before flattening her voice very bluntly, _"we need a car, Emily."_

" _Can we afford a car?"_ Emily sounded slightly panic-stricken.

" _Yes, Em. We're not struggling at all and I've been putting money aside,"_ Alison rolled her eyes partially. _"I'm not saying we need anything glamorous. We just need something that'll get me to and from work… and don't suggest a bike."_

At first, Emily groaned in response, not too keen on having to buy anything bigger than a portable kitchen appliance. She finally mumbled a low _"Fine,"_ however, and the other girl pressed another kiss to her cheek.

They went to an around-town used-car dealership the next day, Alison side-eyeing Emily the entire time due to the brunette not exactly being the most enthusiastic about their impending purchase. Emily, in her own mind, was excited to pick out something… couple-like… with her girlfriend, but clearly it made her a bit nervous at the same time; she's never been the best with numbers and didn't want to fuck up in some way — she never does. After an hour or so, the blonde took a liking to an older, dark-grey Subaru BRZ. Emily liked it as well, but she never gets thrilled by cars; if they can get her places, great. Once they learned that it fit perfectly into their price range (with monthly costs to spare), a woman came over to the couple and they discussed costs more in-depth. The entire conversation didn't sit well with Emily, though, especially when her girlfriend's flirtatious side came out to play. She stood there, almost completely silent aside from occasionally snickering and rolling her eyes whenever Alison spoke to the woman who, throughout the whole conversation, paid no attention to Emily what-so-ever.

" _Can you be a little less… hair-twirly and overly-enthusiastic when talking to the car saleswoman?"_ Emily's jaw clenched as she looked around the lot after the dealership employee had walked back into the building to grab some papers. _"She's practically drooling, and I just want to get the car and leave."_

" _I'm just trying to get a better deal, Em."_

" _By doing what? Flaunting yourself so she just drops the keys?"_ her eyes bugged as she spoke animatedly.

" _How do you even know she's gay?"_ Alison breathed out a bitter laugh, completely changing the topic.

" _I can tell and, if she wasn't before, she definitely is now."_

" _Either way, she's not the one who gets to fuck me in the backseat of our new car."_

" _That's not the point, Alison,"_ Emily shot back, an incredulous look written across her face.

Instead of the blonde responding, she took a deep breath as the saleswoman returned, asking Alison a few more questions (some not even about the damn car) before having both girls sign the bundle of papers. The woman informed them of inspections that have to happen beforehand, both with insurance and the car itself, before it can be driven home.

" _We'll be in touch,"_ her eyes roamed Alison's outfit and Emily cleared her throat. _"Thank you both and have a nice day."_

" _Whatever,"_ Emily's eyebrows shot up as she walked away from her girlfriend who quickly followed, repeatedly (and sternly) calling out the brunette's name. _"You know, Alison, you always get pissed at my 'flirtatious' body language, but I never intentionally push my attractiveness to get what I want. Maybe I should next time,"_ Emily had whipped around right as a cab began to pull up next to the curb.

She felt a huge wave a regret instantly, especially when Alison's blue eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and betrayal. Emily was about to apologize, trying to squeak out a genuine _"I didn't mean it, Ali,"_ but, before she could say _anything_ , the blonde slid into the taxi's backseat and made the driver speed off. It all happened so fast in each girl's eyes, but the slamming of the taxi's door sped up the adrenaline of both girls, Emily kicking a rock once the vehicle drove off and Alison fuming as she scraped her nails along her knees while in the car.

The ride allowed Alison to breathe but, in the meantime, Emily was panicking, running home as fast as she could; it wasn't exactly _far_ , but their house definitely wasn't close to where she was located at the time. The brunette's thoughts began cycling through an endless loop of _"What if something happens to Alison on her way home?"_ and _"What if I just fucked everything up?"_ and _"Mona and CeCe will kill me if she's broken."_

When Emily finally made it home (albeit she was a pile of sweat at the time), the door was locked and she didn't have a key. She heard loud music coming from inside the house, but no one came to the door for ten minutes. Finally, the brunette remembered something that Alison had said a while back: _"And, if you ever need it, there's a spare key hidden in one of the front bushes."_ It was a painful hunt, that's for sure, since the shrubbery wasn't doing all that great as of late, but she retrieved the piece of metal and quickly entered, desperate to shower as soon as possible.

Emily walked through the door and made her way down the hallway, her presence being completely ignored by her girlfriend who flipped through music stations on the TV. She showered as the day was rapidly coming to an end, a very uncomfortable silence and overall atmosphere taking over the house. They ate dinner separately, with the occasional _"Are you going to ignore me forever?"_ and _"I'm sorry, Alison, please"_ floating from the kitchen to the living room, however no response ever fell from the blonde's mouth.

Alison cried once or twice after making it upstairs. She quickly brushed away her tears, though, when she heard the other girl approaching their bed around 9:30 P.M. The blonde put on a stone-like expression, her nostrils flaring a bit as she stared at the ceiling. Emily didn't bother lying down. Instead, she took two pillows off of her side of the bed, muttered, _"I'll just sleep downstairs,"_ and descended the staircase. That made Alison cry again (and _much_ harder), until she practically kicked herself in the ass, and forced her body down the stairs forty-five minutes later.

Upon seeing the brunette lying with her arm slung over the edge of the couch, her legs propped up on the end's armrest, Alison sighed heavily and laid down on top of her girlfriend, resting her head on Emily's chest and kissing her jaw.

" _I love you,"_ Alison whispered. _"I'm sorry for ignoring you all night."_

" _Don't worry about it,"_ Emily was still a bit harsh, but the other girl understood.

" _Come up to bed,"_ the blonde's voice lowered even more than before, _"please,"_ she practically mouthed the last word.

It took a moment for Emily to react to the plea, but she eventually nodded her head as Alison stood up and took the other girl's hand, holding it as they made their way up the stairs and to the bed.

To neither girl's surprise, make-up sex quickly became a mutual favorite — not that they'd want to be making up often for whatever reason. The day's events had brought out a more possessive side of Emily that Alison took a very big liking to. During their activities, the brunette had become hellbent on marking her girlfriend, nipping at Alison's skin as she slid down the mattress, words and phrases such as _"Mine"_ and _"All mine"_ falling from her lips as the other girl's breath hitched with every small bite along her stomach and thighs.

" _Say it,"_ Emily gently commanded when she abruptly came face to face with Alison, delaying what the blonde girl really craved.

" _I'm yours."_

" _For how long?"_

" _Forever,"_ came the conviction before the brunette disappeared under the sheets once again.

The morning after, Alison found various hickies and bite marks strewn across her body, but she wasn't complaining — the intense body ache was a totally different story, though. They didn't just ignore the previous day's argument, however, and decided to discuss it once Emily had gotten home from work. It went well, thankfully, and both girls felt at ease afterwards.

" _I told you before, Ali. I hate when people look at you like you're a piece of meat."_

" _I know, baby, I'm sorry,"_ Alison confessed while playing with the other girl's fingers. _"I'm all yours though, I promise."_

" _I don't like when you use your attractiveness to get what you want."_

" _Unless it's with you?"_

They both laughed at that, ending with an agreeing head nod from Emily. Ultimately, Alison eased her girlfriend's worries and jealousy when saying that she'll be more considerate, noting that she would, indeed, _hate_ it if Emily did the same.

Later that day, CeCe interrupted the couple with a FaceTime call, just informing Alison on the status of the restraining order; _"It's moving along,"_ CeCe said in a cheery tone and the blonde sitting in Emily's lap took a deep breath.

Everything is finally falling into a manageable place for Alison, and she's loving every second of it. Currently, it's 11:15 P.M. on a Thursday night, just after Emily's shift. The blonde is wearing soft, pajama shorts and a t-shirt as her hair is up in a messy bun. She sits in a twenty-four hour cafe (which is otherwise empty at the moment), residing just down the street from their house, though they hadn't discovered it until recently.

About an hour ago, Alison had texted her girlfriend a random message:

" _I want a macchiato. Meet me at that cafe just down the street from us after work. :)"_

She received a simple _"Okay"_ in response, and Alison figured she's just been busy with work; Emily has barely messaged back all day.

Just as the blonde pokes at her phone's screen again, she looks out of the cafe's window to see Emily getting out of a taxi. Alison smiles when her girlfriend sticks her tongue out before walking through the cafe's front door, the small bell above the barrier chiming quickly. The brunette sits down across from Alison who had grabbed a small table which is pressed against the front wall's large window. Once Emily gets comfortable, she rolls her neck slightly and grimaces.

"Bad day?" Alison arches an eyebrow.

" _Busy_ day," Emily corrects.

"Aw," the blonde coos. "Does someone need a massage?"

Before the other girl can respond, a worker from the counter calls out "Alison" and the blonde mutters a soft "Be right back" as she stands up and walks across the floor, passing a bunch of empty tables before coming face to face with the dark-haired woman.

"Thank you," Alison's tone is polite and cheery as she slides the tray of two drinks and a few pastries towards her side of the counter.

"Um," the other woman clears her throat. "Alison?"

"Yes?" the blonde's eyebrows furrow.

"DiLaurentis, right?"

"Yes…"

"I'm Jenna… Elliott's fiancée," the dark-haired woman speaks cautiously.

Alison shifts her jaw slightly, letting out a deep breath with a slight head nod. Surprisingly, she isn't all that upset about the encounter since she knew it would probably happen sooner or later, but it's pretty freaking late and she was having a good night beforehand.

" _Okay_ ," Alison nods, her eyes darting from the countertop, to Emily, and back towards the woman behind the counter.

"I know that you probably _really_ don't want to talk to me or hear what I have to say," Jenna begins, her voice pretty shaky, "but I really wanted to apologize."

"What for?" Alison's response is almost so comical that she wants to laugh at it herself, but she doesn't.

"I didn't know that you were engaged to Elliott," her voice wavers. "Honestly, I didn't even know that you existed until I found out on my own, sometime after you found out about me."

"Oh," is the blonde's curt reply; she doesn't know what this other girl wants her to say, really.

"Did you know that he sent me a save-the-date card?" she settles on saying, her words holding a hint of bitterness.

The other girl's eyes widen a bit and she looks around the room, clearly not knowing that he had sent Alison one of their fancy cards. Instead of voicing that piece of information, Jenna decides to explain herself a bit further.

"My intentions weren't to interfere with anyone's relationship. He came up to me in a bar and—" she stops herself. "You probably don't want to hear about that. I'm just sorry, and I didn't want to let you leave until I told you that."

"I forgive you," Alison treads carefully. "I don't _want_ to, particularly, but I'm happy with the way things have worked out for me," her head slightly turns in Emily's direction.

"She's pretty," Jenna comments before looking away, clearly uncomfortable just as much as Alison is.

"So… you work here?" she wonders if Elliott had _really_ cheated on her with a small-business waitress.

"No," comes the reply, "well, yes, but I also own the cafe, so."

Figures, Alison thinks. She has nothing against Jenna, specifically, but she's obviously not the woman's biggest fan and she's sure the feeling is mutual.

"Sorry for the hold up. Here," the dark-haired woman reaches over the counter and gives Alison another pair of pastries. "Enjoy," she nods her head and Alison places a dollar in the tip jar, earning a semi-playful eye roll from the other girl.

Sure, they won't be best friends anytime soon (or _ever_ , if you ask Alison), but the encounter wasn't as bad as the blonde was expecting. Truthfully, she pictured more slapping, swearing, and Emily carrying her away after two minutes of constant threats. She internally rolls her own eyes, though she's relieved it played out much differently.

As she sits back down, Emily raises her eyebrows in surprise, snickering when Alison gently kicks her underneath the table. The brunette doesn't say anything about it, however, especially because Jenna is right there and everything seems to have gone moderately okay. Instead, they eat and drink quietly, enjoying the bakery items and frothy beverages. While they eat, a nervous feeling grows in Emily's stomach while she begins to wonder if Alison really isn't holding up as well as she's portraying with her exterior. She ignores it as she finishes her food, making small talk with the girl seated across from her about her long day at work and their plans for the weekend before they leave for Pennsylvania on Sunday morning.

"We're getting the car tomorrow, right?" Emily questions as she licks her lips, enjoying the fresh espresso way too much.

"Right," Alison confirms with a solid head nod, putting her phone back onto the table so she can pay more attention to her girlfriend.

"I'm secretly hoping your little friend isn't working," the brunette breathes out a small laugh as she takes another sip.

Alison rolls her eyes in response, mocking her girlfriend by sticking her tongue out.

"If she is, we'll just give her a show," the blonde shrugs and leans back in her chair, taking a sip of her own drink which is almost empty already.

"No, we won't," Emily deadpans. "She'd be watching you the entire time and it wouldn't be fun for me."

"Fine. I'll ignore her. Better?"

"Much, actually," the brunette smirks and Alison kicks her in the shin again. " _Ow_ ," she dramatically whines.

"Stop making a scene. You're fine," Alison rolls her eyes with a chuckle.

"I'm going to stay at Hanna's," she whines more, though she begins to laugh at herself.

"I know for a fact that, if you told her what happened, she'd slam the door in your face and then invite me over for a movie night," the blonde purses her lips and dares Emily to disagree.

"I liked it better when you two didn't know each other," her eyebrows furrow with a frown.

"Too bad."

After a minute of Emily's forced-frowning, Alison finally gets the other girl to smile when she bats her eyelashes repeatedly, using her innocent grin to break her girlfriend's cold expression. They laugh until they eventually finish their drinks, Emily tossing them into a trashcan near the counter as she throws a quick "Have a nice night" to Jenna who flashes a polite smile at both girls while they exit the cafe.

The couple slowly walks along the sidewalk while Alison talks _a lot_ , the warm beverage obviously running its course already. Emily laughs at her girlfriend's hyper mood while the blonde drums her hands on her own chest and, eventually, the brunette's ass, earning a sharp swat.

"I'm _really_ starting to wonder if she spiked your macchiato," Emily snorts as she shakes her head.

"Probably," Alison laughs at the slight accusation.

The blonde stops abruptly, her eyes squinting in what looks to be deep thought, though Emily isn't completely sure because the girl's cheeks are a bright shade of pink.

"Let's go skinny dipping in a lake somewhere," Alison smirks with a daring expression and Emily's eyes widen.

"First of all," the brunette starts with a curt laugh, "you'd never do that."

The other girl nods when she agrees, slowly beginning to walk again as Emily remains at her side.

"Secondly, I've watched _way_ too many scary movies, and lake-bound skinny dipping is always a no-go," Emily finishes.

"Okay, okay, _okay_ ," Alison starts again, "how about… we camp outside tonight? In the backyard."

The other girl laughs, "Ali, we don't even have a tent."

"We'll make one out of old sheets."

As Emily goes to respond, they both get hit with three to five raindrops, almost as if on cue.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Alison looks towards the sky and her girlfriend laughs hard, hunching over for a second before pulling Alison along the sidewalk more quickly.

"We can still camp out in the living room, if you want," Emily suggests as she looks backwards.

"Like a fort?" Alison mumbles the question, clearly upset that the weather doesn't want to cooperate with the original plan.

"Yeah," Emily tugs the blonde up their building's front steps.

"I guess that'll work," Alison huffs and Emily snorts at her dramatics (and the irony).

The brunette waits for the other girl to open the door while the rain begins to pick up a lot more. Finally, they make it into the building and Emily grunts at the feeling of damp jeans.

"Go hunt for fort supplies while I get dressed," she tells Alison who looks around the living room, not knowing where to start.

Once Emily is upstairs, the blonde pushes the couch further towards the kitchen island (while commending herself for buying such a weightless piece of furniture), making more room for their make-shift, indoor tent. Next, she grabs the spare sheets (which she had planned on using for their outdoor tent), and the stools from the kitchen island. Not bothering to assemble it just yet, she sits down onto the couch with a thud as she waits for her girlfriend to come back downstairs. Before Emily gets back, however, Alison remembers something that she had bought a while ago: a small lamp that projects constellations onto the ceiling. She quickly makes her way over to a crate in the corner of the room, pulling out a few things before finding the lamp which, much to her happiness, still works with the inserted batteries.

"What'd you find?" Emily slowly descends the staircase with one of the paint kits in her arms.

The brunette is wearing short shorts of her own, as well as a baggy t-shirt and visible sports bra. Alison's eyes rake her girlfriend's attire (and, to no one's surprise, her girlfriend's body), flashing her a smirk and earning a playful eye roll.

"I got some sheets, stools, and I pushed the couch further away so we have more room," Alison explains.

"Hmm," the brunette looks at the supplies. "Okay. We're going to need pillows, a few heavy things, and the couch needs to be a little closer."

"You sound like you've done this recently," her eyes narrow.

"You haven't?" Emily shoots back as she pushes the couch further into the living room.

"No," Alison shrugs while she scans the room for heavy objects.

After a minute of thorough searching, Alison runs into the kitchen and discovers a few, extremely heavy cookbooks that she had received as a Christmas gift from her mother years ago. She returns with the books and tosses them onto the couch, followed by a loud thud when they bounce off and land on the wood floor. Emily side-eyes her when she nearly has a heart attack while Alison chews her lower lip with an apologetic look written across her face.

Forty minutes later and the fort is semi-successfully standing. It wouldn't have taken so long if it didn't collapse halfway through the initial build, but that was only because Alison decided to kick one of the stools just when Emily crawled underneath the raised sheet. The small hideout now stretches from the piano's bench to the couch a number of feet away, the sheet tucked into the space underneath the couch's cushions while a heavy book lies atop the bench's corner. The sheet's remaining corners are held up by the two kitchen stools (obviously being pressed down by additional books). After seeing the small dip in the center of the fort, Emily put her hands on her hips as she looked around the room, eventually remembering something and running upstairs to get it.

Once she returned, Alison raised an eyebrow after seeing a long, metal rod in Emily's hands.

" _It's from one of my old painting easels,"_ she explained when she saw Alison's expression.

Not too long after, the brunette was crawling underneath the fort and steadying the rod in the center, balancing it just right so it wouldn't topple over. It worked out, actually, since the rod has a rubber grip on one side, and Emily shimmied out of the fort soon after.

Alison stares at the structure, head tilted slightly with a smile.

"Well?" Emily's eyes widen when she turns towards her girlfriend.

"It's interesting, that's for sure," Alison snickers before kneeling down and crawling underneath the sheet, holding onto the small lamp and placing it in the center once she gets situated.

Emily follows suit and crawls in as well, dragging the art kit and a few paper towels along with her.

The lowest point of the sheet is high enough so they can sit upright, though they'd have to tilt their necks a bit, however the middle of the fort is much taller. Overall, the structure is pretty big, and that's a good thing considering the fact that Alison previously mentioned that she wants to sleep in it.

The couple sits quietly for a few minutes after Alison sets up the small lamp. Soon enough, Emily speaks and breaks the silence.

"Okay," she looks around, "take your shirt and shorts off," come the instructions to which Alison arches an eyebrow while she tilts her head.

When the blonde continues to silently question her girlfriend, Emily grunts.

"Just do it."

Carefully (while not breaking eye-contact with the other girl), Alison pulls her shirt over her head and tosses it aside, next shimmying out of her shorts and doing the same. She shoots her girlfriend the same look of confusion as before, this time her eyes roaming Emily's attire in question.

"Now," Emily looks at the floor, "lay on your stomach."

Again, the blonde's eyes narrow but she complies, finding a nearby pillow and situating it underneath her head as she lays down on the rug. Within seconds, Emily is pulling her own shirt over her head as she straddles the backs of Alison's thighs, dragging the art kit and paper towels closer. The blonde's eyes dart around one side of the room as she keeps her head against the pillow, only hearing a few snapping noises and plastic rustling accompanied by Emily mumbling to herself every once in a while. Once everything quiets down, Alison feels (and slightly hears) her bra unhook, and she buries her face in the pillow for a second.

"What are you doing?" the blonde breathes out a laugh once she leans her cheek on the pillow like previously.

Instead of a verbal response, Emily squeezes out a large blob of yellow, acrylic paint onto Alison's back and the blonde gasps as she buries her face back into the fabric. The girl above chuckles at the reaction as she begins to paint intricate strokes across her girlfriend's skin. An occasional twitching sensation runs through Alison's body whenever the other girl moves the brush across her lower back and, eventually, the brunette begins to do it purposely.

"So," Emily attempts to make conversation as she pays attention to the mental picture she's painting, "that girl at the cafe is Elliott's fiancée?"

"Mhm," comes the reply as Alison bites her inner cheek.

"What'd she have to say? I only heard some of it."

"Just that she's sorry and she never meant to interfere in my relationship with Elliott because she didn't know I existed at all," Alison's body is completely relaxed and her voice doesn't seem harsh at all.

"Do you believe her?" Emily switches to another, same-sized brush and grabs a rose color paint, squeezing out a few dots of the dense liquid.

"Yeah, I do. She doesn't exactly have a reason to lie and she seemed real, so," Alison crinkles her nose when it begins to itch and her hands are trapped underneath the pillow. "I'm not sure why she'd stay with him after finding out about me, but that's not my business."

Emily nods, impressed that her girlfriend seems so calm about it.

"Besides, even if she was lying, I'm much happier with you. It worked out, in the end," she shrugs slightly, careful not to disturb the painting too much.

The brunette smiles, though Alison can't see. She continues painting, eventually grabbing a tiny bit of brown, white, black, and green ( _individually_ ), so she can finish the picture. It takes about thirty more minutes before she's done. Once Emily lines the used brushes on one of the sheets of paper towel, she gently blows across Alison's back and the blonde buries her face into the pillow, whining a bit at the cold air.

"Are you done yet? I want to see," she turns her head again and wiggles underneath the other girl.

"Let it dry a little."

Alison huffs, both due to feeling restricted and also because she can't turn around to face her girlfriend after what feels like two hours (though it was merely one). Minutes pass while the blonde continues to whine and groan, causing the other girl to roll her eyes many, _many_ times. Finally, Emily barely gets out an "Okay" before Alison is crawling out of the fort military-style, elbows digging into the rug as she practically drags both of them out from underneath the sheet while her bra falls completely off. She quickly makes her way into the bathroom so she can check out the artwork, Emily following close by with the dirty brushes, then tossing them into the sink when she gets into the bathroom.

"How did you do this in such a short amount of time?" Alison does her best to look backwards without disturbing the still-wet paint, using the bathroom mirror to her advantage.

"I managed," Emily shrugs, smiling a bit.

The blonde continues to stare at the painting on her back: a variety of different flowers, mostly sunflowers and magenta-tinted peonies with budding centers and leaves surrounding.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Alison takes a step closer and rests her forearms on Emily's shoulders.

"Am I?" the brunette tilts her head and her girlfriend nods hers before connecting their lips.

The kiss isn't all that soft, really, since they've both wanted to get lost in one another for a couple of hours now. It becomes heated real quick, thickening the atmosphere almost instantly, especially when Emily's wandering hands grasp onto the other girl's hips as her tongue traces Alison's bottom lip. A whimper bubbles in the blonde's throat, coming out a bit strangled as she tugs on Emily's bottom lip soon after.

Emily, getting lost in the lip-lock, moves her hands further along Alison's waist, eventually ending up on the girl's back as she mixes the flowers' colors into a bright, soft orange with streaks of brown and green. When the brunette finally realizes what she's done, she doesn't reveal the dilemma, but she drags her hands up the front of Alison's torso before she stops to grab the blonde's breasts, then ends up cupping the girl's face as their tongues fight against one another, moving her palms along Alison's jaw and partially down her neck.

They stay this way for a few more minutes, heatedly making out until Alison feels her cheeks tightening a bit as she tilts her head away with narrowed eyes.

"You did _not_ just get paint all over me," she deadpans.

The other girl simply bites onto her own lower lip as she tries to hide a smile, failing miserably. Alison, in response, shoots her girlfriend a sinister smile before she reaches behind her back, scrapes her nails across the gooey-liquid-covered skin, and coats her hands with paint. Emily backs up slightly, though she forgets that the bathroom door is three steps to her left, and she has no time to react before Alison is rubbing her hands all over her toned stomach, chest, and, eventually, face. The brunette breathes out a laugh before pulling the other girl back towards her, kissing Alison harder than before. More paint ends up on the blonde's face as a result of Emily's nose moving against hers, as well as her hands making their way back to Alison's cheeks. In the end, quickly-drying paint manages to get into their hair, onto their shoulders, across their chests, and along their stomachs.

"We should probably shower," Alison raises her eyebrows before maneuvering around her girlfriend and turning the water on, adjusting the levels to make it a bearable temperature before she slides her panties down her legs and takes her hair out from the messy bun.

"Come," she nods her head towards the shower, expecting Emily to follow.

After a slight hesitation (but definitely not much), Emily strips herself of the sports bra, shorts, and underwear. Alison's eyes deliberately take in her girlfriend's now-naked body, her mouth forming her signature smirk as she reaches for the brunette's hand, pulling her into the already steam-filled space. They both breathe heavily when their body heat mixed with the steamy air makes the space feel ten times smaller, especially when Alison begins to move closer to Emily once again, kissing her gently and smiling against her mouth.

The brunette's hands drag down her girlfriend's back like previously, some of the more-dry paint clumping along the edge of her hand before it falls onto the wet floor and, finally, flows down the drain. When Alison deepens the kiss (resulting from Emily's further-wandering hands), she's pushed against the back of the shower, her colorful skin hitting the cool, tile wall with a whimper, followed by an elongated, muffled moan after one of her girlfriend's hands scratch along her right, inner thigh. Alison holds herself up, partly by grasping onto Emily's shoulders and also by keeping her legs apart but at a manageable distance for the both of them.

Emily, making sure to wipe off any remaining paint from her girlfriend's neck, kisses the skin once Alison tilts her head, leaning back against the shiny wall so her throat is exposed as well. The other girl takes this as an open invitation to continue, moving her lips from Alison's pulse point, down the side of her neck, and along her throat, alternating between small bites, open-mouthed kisses, and tongue strokes. Alison, in the meantime, holds onto her girlfriend's shoulders (mostly with her nails) and breathes heavily, not bothering to try and stop the loud moans that come every now and then when Emily's hand shifts higher between her legs, though the girl's fingers are just lingering on her inner thigh.

"We're never going to get clean this way," Alison chokes out when Emily finishes toying with her neck.

"I know," the brunette breathes out a small laugh, backing up so she's under the showerhead.

She reaches her hands out to grab Alison's, grinning when the blonde complies and comes closer. Emily glances at the wall behind her girlfriend, smiling more while she raises her eyebrows at the watered-down, acrylic paint that streams down the shiny, white tiles, some of the orange getting stuck in the mortar cracks. When the other girl sees Emily's amused expression, she turns around to notice the same thing, arching an eyebrow when they're face to face again.

"Not my fault," the brunette begins to wash her hair.

Alison bites her lower lip, rolling her eyes and not caring enough to refute the statement — though it kind of _is_ Emily's fault. Soon enough, Alison washes her own hair, carefully wringing the paint out of her blonde strands and also Emily's brown ones (after seeing a few dry specks of yellow tangled within the tips). Once that's completely done, Emily washes her body as she removes the chunky paint from between her boobs with a dull "Seriously?" directed at Alison who smirks and shrugs.

"You started it," she steals the body wash from her girlfriend.

The rest of their showering experience involves making sure all the paint is washed off of both of them, Alison asking Emily multiple times, "Are you _sure_ it's all off?" before shooting the warning, "If I find anything tomorrow, I'll be painting a pretty picture on you while you sleep."

The brunette narrows her eyes at the threat, double-checking Alison once again and mumbling a "Yeah, looking good" when her eyes float downwards while the blonde turns the water off.

Alison snickers at the comment while grabbing for a nearby towel on the wall rack. She wraps the towel around her body as much as she can while she steps out onto a small bathroom rug.

"What about me?" Emily practically squeaks, poking her head out from behind the shower curtain.

"What about you?" Alison throws her voice over her shoulder, smirking when she closes the bathroom door and hears an annoyed groan.

Emily shakes her head and wrings her hair slightly before stepping out of the shower and grabbing a smaller, spare towel from underneath the bathroom vanity. She glares at the closed door when the towel barely covers her, eventually walking out and carefully making her way up to the loft area, hoping that she doesn't slip on her still-damp feet and the hardwood floor. Alison stands in the closet, picking out some new, comfortable pajamas, yet remains completely undressed, her towel bunched at her feet while she searches. Emily comes up behind her, side-eyeing the other girl when she makes her way in front of her own dresser, pulling out some new underwear, shorts, and a tank top. She debates on wearing a bra or not but, honestly, she currently feels too lazy so she decides against it, letting the small towel fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Alison glances at her girlfriend's body once again, biting her lip gently before going back to her own search. Eventually, she gives up, picking out a random pair of underwear, a simple bra, and shorts while not bothering to find a shirt since the fort will probably make them warm as hell all night.

They both get dressed quickly and Emily turns to face her girlfriend finally, blushing when she realizes that Alison is planning on sleeping with no shirt on — not that it's a new thing for them. If Emily's being honest (and, sometimes, Alison as well), it still creates a fluttery feeling in her stomach when she remembers how comfortable they are with one another. It didn't take long, actually, and maybe that's a bit surprising to most outsiders, but they feel genuinely… _whole_. Usually, after they have sex, the two of them fall asleep covered in sweat and nothing else, aside from the occasional times when they're hungry so they go downstairs late at night, Alison wearing Emily's previously-discarded shirt and her own shorts or underwear from before. Whenever the blonde steals her shirt, Emily just puts her bra and panties back on before following the other girl to the kitchen.

There have been countless morning-after's where Alison shoots flirtatious comments at her girlfriend who gets dressed at the foot of the bed, the brunette blushing furiously when she's told how beautiful and sexy she is. Honestly, compared to their normal teasing banter, early mornings after any sexual activities are (normally) extremely fluffy between the two girls, being full of care and compliments, light kisses, and pure love. Occasionally, the blonde will wake up before the other girl, heading downstairs to grab a quick breakfast or, sometimes, she even makes a slightly fancier breakfast for Emily who had worked a long shift at No End the day before, bringing it upstairs to the girl who remains lying in bed. Like Alison, Emily always watches her girlfriend's body as she lies against the pillows with a sheet covering most of her own body, tossing compliments at the other girl though her voice is raspy ninety percent of the time — one of Alison's favorite, small quirks of early mornings.

Emily approaches the other girl, moving in close and pressing an extremely gentle, lingering kiss on the corner of Alison's mouth before exiting the closet and making her way back downstairs. Alison stands there, blinking for a moment as she takes a deep breath and follows, watching Emily shuffle back into the fort as she descends the remaining steps. The blonde shuts off the lights near the front door, both inside and out, making sure everything is locked up before she follows suit and crawls into the fort. Blending with the sound of her sliding into the enclosed space is the wind and rain; they can hear the large raindrops making their way through the house's gutters, a slight clanking noise being the result.

She gets situated, lying in the same position as her girlfriend: backs flat as their shoulders touch while they stare at the lamp-made constellations on the sheet's surface. They don't have too much room, but it'll be enough to sleep comfortably — Alison hopes. The couple relaxes there in silence for an extended amount of time, both watching the slow-moving and fading stars until Emily chuckles, intentionally destroying the quietness.

"I think I see the Little Dipper," Emily tilts her head towards the other girl and whispers with a dopey grin across her face.

"Shut up," Alison chuckles and elbows her girlfriend.

They quiet down again and Alison glances down as she reaches for the other girl's hand, carefully intertwining their fingers and resting their now-clasped hands between them atop a lightweight blanket that covers their bodies. Neither feels all that tired, though it's probably around 2:30 A.M. by now — they don't really know where their phones are, but that's beside the point. The rest of the living room is dark and the small lamp only gives off a select amount of light, bright enough to make "stars" appear and disappear. Every now and then, they can hear the sound of a loud car driving by in the distance, but otherwise the fort is completely enclosed, causing their breathing to sound a bit louder than it really is.

"Em," the blonde looks at the other girl for a split second, turning her attention back towards the stars quickly.

"Mhm?" Emily's gaze flickers between Alison's lips and eyes, shifting closer.

Alison opens her mouth a time or two, closing it immediately afterwards when she isn't sure how to word what she's thinking. Emily waits patiently, though a confused look crosses her features as silence fills the air once again — aside from the rain that picks up briefly, slamming against the front windows and creating loud static.

"Before that Thursday night," she begins again, whispering, "had you ever walked anyone else home after one of your shifts?"

"No," Emily whispers back without missing a beat, though taken aback by the random question.

"What made me so special then? If it wasn't just to make sure that I got back to the hotel safely because I had been drinking, I guess," the blonde side-eyes her girlfriend's expression, although it doesn't reveal much.

"You being drunk had very little to do with it, actually," she speaks honestly, taking a deep breath when her thumb rubs along Alison's hand.

"I felt… attracted to you, if I'm being honest. Not in the sexual sense," Emily shakes her head at her own words, making sure to clarify, "but like… I felt as though you needed someone, and I never realized that I was missing the feeling of being _needed_ until I met you."

Alison swallows hard, smiling gently as she listens.

"I hope that doesn't sound crappy. I don't mean that you didn't seem independent, but…" Emily struggles to find the words now, "you didn't look… _happy_ , and I wanted to change that."

"I wasn't happy," the other girl admits, her voice partially cracking due to the very soft whisper, "and you _did_ change that, Emily."

When the brunette doesn't respond (and a single tear rolls down her temple after it exits the corner of her eye), Alison timidly rolls over, gently laying her body on top of her girlfriend's with her legs straddling one of the other girl's thighs. She can see, straight away, that Emily's eyes were watering, so she uses her thumbs to rub away any stray tears.

"I mean it, Em," Alison whispers again. "You're my person," she repeats CeCe's words, realizing how true they actually are.

"I love being your person," Emily breathes out a small chuckle so she can mask a sob, her eyes looking upwards so she can stop more tears from coming.

"And I love being your person, too. I wouldn't want to be anyone else's."

Alison speaks from her heart and Emily can tell, this time the tears don't keep at bay and a few fall immediately as the blonde hovering above her smiles gently, a knowing look written across her face.

"I know, baby," she wipes her girlfriend's tears again, "I'm happy too."

Emily takes a deep breath, determined not to cry too hard right now because, really, that'd suck since they just had such a nice night together. So, to keep herself from breaking down, she connects their lips, a new feeling washing over the both of them, though neither girl can put a finger on what, _exactly_ , that new feeling is. It formed from big revelations, they collectively assume; possibly, after admitting that they are, indeed, truly happy… everything clicked — even though Emily and Alison thought everything was already in place, beforehand.

Alison pushes the other girl back down onto the lone pillow, repositioning the blanket by moving her legs so it's draped over both of them as she remains on top of Emily's body, kissing her continuously.

Minutes turn into half-hours and, quickly, entire hours. The pair tangles in the blanket, kissing hard with the occasional hip thrusts from the girl above, just on natural instinct. At one point, the atmosphere gets so heavy that Emily flips them over (trying to be as gentle as possible since they're only on a semi-thin rug), almost knocking the entire fort over when the middle beam shifts an inch to the side. The brunette, though lost in the moment, manages to hold it up, multitasking as she re-secures the rod without tearing her mouth away from Alison's.

Sweat forms along their skin rapidly, both due to their proximity and the closed-off space that they're in, contained by a densely-fabricated sheet as they lie on a soft rug. It isn't the _most_ comfortable, especially when the rest of their clothes come off and they feel like they're sticking to everything, but it doesn't take long before they forget about where they are: on the living room floor, in a makeshift tent with a star-making lamp.

When Emily's hand starts to make its way down Alison's body, the blonde shakes her head with a soft "No," earning a confused look from the girl hovering above.

"Let me take care of you," she half-suggests, half-explains as they roll over with ease.

The blonde does just as she said, taking her time worshipping her girlfriend's body for hours afterwards, making sure she leaves no patch of skin unkissed or unloved. She mumbles sweet _I love you_ 's and _you're so beautiful_ 's, followed by trailing open-mouthed kisses all over Emily's body like some tangled map. The brunette enjoys the sentiment thoroughly, breathing out moans, whimpers, and Alison's name. Of course the other girl, after quite some time, makes sure to please her girlfriend in the best of ways, earning another chain of louder noises and name-chanting. It happens _repeatedly_ , even when the brunette's body starts to ache more as the time passes, and Alison only relents when she's flipped over onto her own back with a deep-sounding thud.

Emily chuckles through her heavy breathing, asking her girlfriend if she's okay and getting the quiet response, "I will be," as their lips reattach. The blanket bunches somewhere towards the side of them as cool air filters through the fort, causing both Emily and Alison to shiver for a split second as their sticky skin gets hit with the new temperature.

"You are so loved, Alison,"Emily whispers in her girlfriend's ear as the blonde comes undone once again, her nails digging into the other girl's back as she feels skilled fingers working against her.

Early morning light filters through the living room's big windows, casting an orange-tinted light across the floorboards nearby and partly upon the sheet stretched above them. Emily doesn't roll off of the other girl until the kissing and heavy breathing slows down, an inevitable result from returning her received pleasure from before; Emily's always determined to match the amount of love that Alison pours into their activities — sometimes she even tries to make it a playful competition.

Sometime after four-thirty in the morning, the two girls fall asleep, their legs tangled as the blanket covers their lower halves for the most part, with the exception of their ankles and feet catching some cold air. Alison's arm is draped over Emily's torso, their heads touching as the star lamp flickers occasionally and, eventually, burns out hours after they get lost in their dreams.

* * *

 **Jealous Emily… tsk, tsk, tsk. *Side eyes* It's all fun and games until someone says something completely stupid.**

 **Jennaaaaaa! Alright, but… I'm still chuckling because I wrote this chapter before we even knew about the Jenna/Archer dynamic… even if it was only platonic on-screen. ━ Anyone actually surprised by the Alison/Jenna encounter? I think we all kind of pictured (or wished for) Alison slapping whoever Elliott's marrying, but nope; she's definitely changed, and she's finally letting go. ━ As for Elliott… I wish I could have made him fall into a tar pit or something, but that's not realistic, and being realistic is, ultimately, my goal. Unfortunately (as I type through my bitterness), even bad apples find people to love them. Though, that's not to say that their marriage will last. Who knows. ━ I'm truly not trying to focus on it.**

 **Macchiatos, skin painting, forts, rain storms, etc. #Goals.**

 **Seems like Emily feels… accomplished… in a way. Happy tears, no doubt, especially because Alison finally admitted that she is truly happy with their relationship. Very heavy feelings, also stemming from Alison's (formerly CeCe's) words: "You're my person."**

 **You know, it's really interesting how this story was originally going to end after sixteen chapters, but I actually found some cute chapter ideas (including this one) to make it longer… and I'm extremely glad that I did. I think everyone deserves to see complete, solid character development on Alison's part, and Emily's as well. ━ Speaking of, next chapter, we're paying a visit to Rosewood! How about that? Meshing AU and canon locations… and Emily will certainly show Alison around her hometown.**

 **Yup, so… two chapters left, and then the epilogue chapter. ━ I'll be uploading fast, and it's for a personal reason, so the entire story (epilogue included) will be ending sometime around October 5th unless I change uploading dates. After that, I have five one-shots already written for "What If (This Happened)?" and I just finished writing Ch 13 of my new multi-chapter (which, by the way, is extremely intense).**

 **Send me prompts on here or wherever, ask questions about whichever story, or just review and send me some love. I have so much fun reading everyone's thoughts, so I encourage you to share them. ━ I'll see you on Wednesday!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: *Sitting with box of tissues nearby***

 **My "Tattooed Memories & Hidden Stories" folder is like… empty, aside from the remaining chapters and house diagrams. Not much left.**

 **Welp, this author's note got depressing real quick. Whoopsies.**

 **Notice: For those who've always wondered what Alison's (and now Emily's) loft/house looks like, I added a "FIC AESTHETIC" link to my Tumblr account ("capn-charlie") in case you'd like to take a look. I also posted the "blueprint" of No End, and the Cape Cod cottage. ━ I'll be adding more fic stuff to the link such as "January of 2011" (my new story) things, etc.**

 **I'm glad everyone enjoyed the confrontation between Alison and Jenna in Ch 18. Alison has definitely changed, and I think it's best this way. Also, it was a thrill writing Jenna as the "good guy."**

 **But anyway, we're paying a visit to Emily's parental units in this chapter. It'll be complicated, kind of, but I think you'll like a lot of the Emison moments.**

 **I'll meet you at the bottom.**

* * *

"Are you ready?" Alison questions a bit skeptically as her girlfriend locks the front door and makes her way down the front steps.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Emily gives the other girl a tight-lipped smile as the distance between their bodies slims down.

"Well, suck it up and let's go," the blonde chuckles when her girlfriend rolls her eyes.

"What a nice pep-talk."

"Come on," Alison presses a quick kiss to the corner of Emily's mouth before taking her hand and practically dragging her across the street.

They approach their new, dark-grey car, successfully getting the keys to the vehicle just two days ago. It took both Emily and Alison a few, short drives to get used to the way the car handled, but they eventually got the hang of it. Alison, to no surprise, enjoys speeding up when she probably shouldn't, and Emily's witnessed a new side of her girlfriend within the last two days: road-raging Alison. Emily, on the other hand, is extremely careful when she drives — though that doesn't stop her from nearly getting into accidents since _"No one knows how to fucking drive,"_ as Alison had once seethed while she tried to roll a window down.

Emily slides into the driver's seat and takes a deep breath as she fastens her seatbelt. Alison does the same before turning to her girlfriend who seemingly doesn't want to go anywhere — or, more specifically, to her parents' house. The blonde glances at the clock to see that it's currently 12:10 P.M. and they're already ten minutes past their agreed leaving time.

"Do you want me to drive?" Alison questions sympathetically and Emily's eyes widen, causing the blonde to snort at the reaction.

For a more-solid response, Emily turns the keys in the ignition and starts the car. She glances in all of the mirrors, making sure everything is okay before she backs out of the parking space.

"I'm driving home, don't forget," her girlfriend gives off a pointed look and Emily rolls her eyes as she pulls out onto the main road.

"I'm sure you'll remind me, Ali."

"Well, I just figured you'd want to rest after the visit," she shrugs. "With all this nervousness, your energy is likely to crash once we leave."

Emily bites her cheek at how much her girlfriend actually knows her. It's not that she gets nervous often, but there _have_ been moments, and any kind of extreme emotion drains her pretty damn quickly. Sometimes, the crash will come immediately afterwards, but usually it takes a few hours — either way, it's bound to happen today and Alison's right.

The brunette pulls onto a longer strip of road, making sure to merge carefully and quickly. Alison, in the passenger's seat, props her feet up on the dash as she listens to whatever's on the radio. She hums along and Emily chuckles when the blonde attempts to mumble a high note. Alison shoots her a playful glare before going back to humming, tilting her head back and trying to rest as much as she can. It doesn't work, however, and she's tapping away on her phone within the next two minutes.

"Hanna says hello," Alison notifies the other girl. " _'Hey, girl,'_ actually."

"You two better not be talking about me," Emily huffs as she keeps her eyes on the road.

"Aw," the blonde mocks her with a frown, "we always do. Sorry, baby."

"What?" she groans. "About what?"

"That's between Hanna and I."

Emily makes a face as she continues to focus, occasionally glancing at her girlfriend who types away. Although Alison is typing, however, she's watching the other girl out of the corner of her eye, noting the fact that Emily keeps side-eyeing her with the same, severe, angry pout.

"We're just discussing our trip to see your parents, that's all," Alison relents.

"She must be getting a kick out of that," Emily rolls her eyes.

"Mhm," she confirms with a hum, "and she's giving me 'in-law' tips."

The brunette blushes slightly and her girlfriend smirks at the rosey tint.

"She's not the most fond of them," Emily confesses before clarifying, "well, she loves them because they're my parents, but they've never made the best impressions."

"I can tell. She's been ranting for a few minutes now," Alison says as she exaggeratedly scrolls up and down within their iMessage conversation. "Are they _that_ bad?"

"It's… complicated."

"Well, you better uncomplicate it because we'll be there in a little over an hour and I need to know."

"Put it this way… they've gotten pissed at me _recently_ for 'dangerous' things that I had done years upon years ago. High school years, I'm talking," she explains. "Actually, I think the term my mom used was 'reckless'."

"Like what?" Alison's eyebrows furrow as she looks to her girlfriend.

"Just a few, small adventures that I'd gone on with the others. We followed a woodsy trail up to this hidden place. It was beautiful, but Mom didn't care how happy it made me… she just cared that I did it and never told her. But her reaction was exactly why I didn't tell her in the first place," Emily switches lanes carefully, using her mirrors.

"So, basically, your parents cared too much and mine didn't care at all?" Alison chuckles and Emily smiles.

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty accurate," her smile grows.

"Two halves of a whole," Alison smirks, shifting in her seat to become comfortable again.

Silence takes over the confined space once the two stop talking. There are a few more off-ramps that Emily has to take, nearly getting lost at one point, but she successfully makes it onto one of the final, long stretches of road. Time winds down quickly, and Alison begins to grow antsy in her seat, groaning every now and then when she can't get comfortable. To occupy herself, eventually, she focuses on her phone again as she plays some game. It doesn't work for long, much to her disappointment, so she strikes up a new conversation with her girlfriend.

"I noticed that all of your tattoos are completely covered," she notes Emily's outfit: her hair is down, and she's wearing an off-black, crew neck t-shirt, light blue jean shorts, and vans.

"Mhm," Emily's responds, "I'm trying to avoid the topic of tattoos during this visit."

"What if they bring up work?"

"That's rare, so," she bites her inner cheek. "I don't know. We'll see."

Alison nods slowly; she's trying to grasp the complexity of Emily's relationship with her parents, but she's finding it to be quite difficult. The brunette has always seemed like an open book (at least to Alison), but this is the one topic that apparently strikes some kind of nerve. Whenever Alison mentions Emily's parents, the brunette distances herself and gets a bit… stuttery. She's not _completely_ closed off, no, and maybe Alison will never fully understand their relationship, but she's hoping that this visit will give her a few answers.

"Are we only seeing your parents?" the blonde's eyes narrow as she faces the other girl once again. "Like… no estranged siblings of yours are going to be popping in and out of the house, right?"

Emily breathes out a laugh, "Don't worry. I'm an only child."

"Just making sure," Alison laughs as well.

"I think you mentioned that you have a brother, didn't you?" Emily speaks absentmindedly.

"I did," the blonde confirms with a hard head nod. "His name is Jason. Haven't spoken to him lately," she sighs.

"Do you have a better relationship with him?" she pries carefully.

"Than with my parents? Oh yeah, _much_ ," Alison's chuckles then smiles. "He lives somewhere out west. We used to talk a lot, mostly about our mutual disappointment regarding Mom and Dad, but we haven't recently," her smile falls slightly as she looks down at her hands.

"Maybe you should give him a call sometime," Emily suggests, noting her girlfriend's regretful body language.

"Will you FaceTime him with me?" the blonde's attitude is shy, though (judging by the way Emily smiles), her girlfriend would be more than happy to meet a family member.

"I'd be honored," she speaks honestly, her voice holding a dramatic tone (and, honestly, she has to refrain from mocking Hanna by calling him an "in-law").

Alison smiles big, showing off her teeth as she shifts in the seat again. Emily takes the next exit before the vehicle is making its way through a small town. To the brunette, it holds many memories and she has to take a deep breath in order to stop herself from getting emotional while she drives. Alison, however, takes in the scenery, noting how quaint the town is. She sees groups of young girls walking down the sidewalks while boys nod their heads towards them, and her eyes scope out the small businesses. Really, it looks like a less-popular version of Emily's old apartment's street, and Alison wonders if that's why she originally decided to rent the space with Hanna.

Eventually, Emily parks the car in her childhood home's driveway. Before getting out, she leans her head back and takes a very deep breath. Alison reaches over the center console and grabs the other girl's hand, rubbing her thumb against the smooth skin with a sympathetic smile. Emily's eyes flutter open and she glances in her girlfriend's direction, mirroring a small smile as she unbuckles, unlatches the door, and climbs out. Alison follows suit and steps out, looking at the suburban house as Emily grabs onto her hand and rushes up the steps. The brunette's hand is a bit sweaty and Alison wonders why she's _this_ worked up, but she doesn't mention it and, instead, helps ring the doorbell when Emily seems a bit too nervous to.

"There's my Emmy," Mr. Fields answers the door with a smile, " _and_ Alison," he nods towards the blonde standing beside his daughter.

When they step over the threshold (after a pair of hugs), the delicious scent of chicken, vegetables, and whatever else fills their nostrils. Alison, as expected, takes in the room's decor, noting the various family photos, awards, and other trinkets. She stays silent for the most part, only responding when spoken to by Mr. Fields or her timid girlfriend. Emily holds onto Alison's hand tightly, glancing at the blonde and nodding towards the kitchen so they can give her mother a quick greeting.

"Welcome home," the older woman turns around with a large smile once she hears the two walk into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Emily returns the smile, though it's a soft expression and doesn't exactly reach her eyes.

The two hug as Alison stands close by, making sure that she doesn't seem too awkward or too… bitchy. Once they finish with the embrace, the older woman turns towards Alison and smiles again, pulling her into a hug which surprises the blonde, but she quickly returns the gesture. Emily shifts on her feet, clearly nervous but happy that everything is going well so far — even though it's only been five minutes or so.

"And welcome to Rosewood, Alison," Mrs. Fields smiles warmly. "I'm sure it's much less crowded than what you're used to."

Emily winces slightly, feeling the secondhand sensation of walking on eggshells whenever her mother speaks. It's not that she expects Alison to snap quickly (and, honestly, Emily wouldn't blame her if she ever did), but her mother's words can sometimes come off a bit… judgemental or narrow-minded — no matter if it's a lifetalk or just casual conversation.

"It's a really cute town, actually," the blonde smiles politely. "It seems cozy."

"You're right… it's extremely cozy," Pam responds. "I never understood why Emily wanted to move away, especially to somewhere so crowded."

"I think change is good," Alison comments in a matter-of-fact tone, "plus, I think she just knew she'd eventually find me."

"I suppose things worked out then," the older woman shows off a tight-lipped smile and eyes her daughter who seems to shrink back a little.

"Hey, do you want a tour of the house?" Emily faces her girlfriend suddenly, not leaving room for an answer before she's tugging on the blonde's hand and dragging her upstairs.

When they make it upstairs, Emily pulls Alison into her old bedroom, shutting the door quietly and leaning against the wooden barrier as she takes a few more deep breaths. The other girl watches Emily carefully, frowning in confusion before turning her attention to the space. She moves around the room, picking up a few picture frames and scanning the photos. For the most part, the pictures show Emily and her three best friends, however she finds the occasional photo of Emily with her parents. Afterwards, she places the last frame down and looks at the room as a whole, noting the colors and decor style. She smiles softly, thinking about how different Emily's style is now-a-days compared to what she's looking at.

"What?" Emily questions what her girlfriend is smiling at.

"Your color palette has changed so much," the blonde smirks and her girlfriend shoots her a look.

"This room is barely me. It never really was," Emily sits on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

Alison sits next to the other girl, gently placing a hand just above her knee. Emily lays her own hand over Alison's, playing with her fingers slightly. She bows her head and sighs again with a clear indication that she already wants the visit to be over.

"Em, tell me what's wrong," Alison whispers as she tucks some hair behind her girlfriend's ear.

Before Emily can answer, there's a knock at the door, immediately followed by the knob twisting, and Mrs. Fields becomes visible as she pokes her head into the room.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Sorry it's so early," she speaks quietly with an unreadable expression.

"It's my fault, Mom. I'm sorry. I have work tomorrow," Emily answers, still looking towards the floor.

"I know you do," the older woman responds. "Are you going to spend your entire visit up here?"

"No, I just wanted to show Ali my old room," the younger brunette gives her mother a curt smile.

"I bet she loves it just as much as you did," Pam comments with a smile. "We'll be downstairs waiting."

Alison sits quietly, not wanting to interrupt Emily's thoughts once Mrs. Fields leaves and her footsteps can be heard descending the stairs. The brunette swallows hard and rolls her eyes at the fact that her mother left the door wide open; _"'Welcome home' is right,"_ her thoughts mock her mother's words from before. Alison, on the other hand, bites her inner cheek as she begins to piece together everything: clearly, Emily has a worse relationship with her mother than she does with her father, but even then, it's not all that good. Emily's mother's final comment rings around in Alison's mind, especially since the brunette had _just_ finished stressing the fact that this room was never really _her_. It's obvious that there's a major rift in communication and, judging from what Alison knows about her girlfriend, it's not entirely the younger brunette's fault.

"We better get downstairs before Mom has a conniption," Emily huffs as she forces herself off of the mattress.

She starts to walk towards the door, but Alison pulls her back a fraction. When Emily furrows her eyebrows, Alison tilts her head and the other girl breathes out while looking at the floor again.

"I'm sorry," Emily mumbles.

"I don't want an apology, Em," Alison comforts, being slightly angered by the fact that her girlfriend feels the need to apologize for every small thing — it's not by choice, though, and Alison knows that.

When the brunette tries to walk away once again, Alison tugs her back into the room, giving her the same expression as before. She tilts her head and offers a sad smile to Emily who looks at her confusingly.

"We'll only be here for a few more hours, then we can go _home_ ," the blonde stresses the word, "and I'll let you be the little spoon tonight."

Emily chuckles slightly and her smile grows when Alison's eyebrows shoot up in fake offense. Instead of replying, Emily kisses her girlfriend hard, making sure to keep a safe amount of distance between them — though it doesn't stop Alison from _trying_ to get closer.

"How angry do you think your mom would be if I kept you up here for a few more hours?" Alison smirks while brushing her nose against Emily's.

"Let's not find out," Emily groans before creating more distance and descending the stairs, hand-in-hand.

X X X

Dinner goes relatively well; the food is delicious and small talk makes the time pass quickly. Alison repeatedly compliments Mrs. Fields' cooking and the older woman seemingly takes a big liking to her daughter's girlfriend, as well as Mr. Fields who constantly tries to find out more about the blonde girl. Emily sits silent for most of the dinner, only occasionally joining in to comment on whatever topic is lingering at the time. She speaks more to her father who is genuinely interested in what she's been doing with her life. Obviously, however, Emily tries her hardest to avoid the topic of work (as she told Alison she would), and the young couple tiptoes around detailing their first meet-up.

"We um—" Emily's thoughts stop suddenly, not being able to come up with a lie.

"I think we really just hit it off," Alison interrupts, sensing her girlfriend's discomfort. "I wasn't having a good week, and Emily knew I needed someone, so she took the time to keep me company on a walk one night."

"Was it really late?" Pam's eyebrows furrow as she takes a sip of her red wine.

Both younger girls look at each other, not knowing how to explain without bringing up that it was after one of Emily's shifts at the parlor. It's obnoxious, really, that Emily feels like she can't even bring up the occupation that's paying her bills — it's not like she's putting herself on display to earn money.

"You've always been one to take care of others, Emmy," her dad intervenes with the comment while he leans back. "It's that Fields gene."

"I like it," Alison looks towards her girlfriend and smiles gently.

Emily returns the smile, though she can feel her mood slipping second by second. Alison can tell that the other girl is struggling, but she doesn't want to make any sudden hand-holding moves, just in case that makes Emily even more uncomfortable. She settles on another sympathetic smile before turning back to the older couple seated on two sides of the table.

"Thanks for inviting me, again," she speaks. "It means a lot to feel welcomed."

"It's the least we can do, honey," Pam responds kindly, but Emily squints her eyes when she hears a hidden… apologetic tone, as if she's referring to Alison's own family situation instead of inviting the blonde solely because she's a big part of her daughter's life now.

Alison (thankfully) misses it, however, because she seems content with the response — unless she's hiding her disdain pretty damn well. Emily doesn't know if her mother's underlying tone is just her imagination, if she's thinking the worst again, or if it's really existing, but she doesn't like it one bit and gets up from the table abruptly, plate in hand while she walks into the kitchen.

Her girlfriend sits in her seat, bowing her head slightly, even though she knows that Emily isn't in the best frame of mind currently — and she's also aware that none of this emotion is directed at her, but she can't help but feel a bit scorned by it. The blonde watches Mrs. Fields gather the remaining plates, muttering a quick "We'll meet you in the living room" to both Alison and Mr. Fields before walking into the kitchen. Alison swallows hard as she peeks into the kitchen, afterwards turning to see Emily's father beckoning for her to follow him into the living room. She follows his lead, eventually, and kindly sits near him in front of the TV which is playing an afternoon Phillies game. She checks the time (3:54 P.M.) and purses her lips, glancing around the room awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Emily stares out the kitchen window, lost in her own thoughts when she hears footsteps behind her.

"What's wrong with you, Emily?" her mother's voice holds no sympathy, and it sounds more like she's scolding the younger girl for being upset than she is concerned for her.

"Nothing's wrong," Emily turns around and tries to put on a convincing smile. "Just needed to put my plate away."

"Did Alison do something to upset you?" she pries gently, but the younger brunette's eyes bug as she shakes her head incredulously.

"No, Mom, she didn't do anything to upset me," Emily breathes out with a bitter laugh.

"Are you sure? You don't seem—"

"I'm fine," her reply is sharp. "I just don't feel well."

"You can go lie down if you'd like, sweetie. I'm sure Alison wouldn't mind staying down here," her mother's forehead creases.

"I'll be okay," Emily shakes her head with a huff. "She's driving home, so I can rest on the way back."

"She's driving?"

"Yeah, why not?" the younger brunette's eyes narrow at her mother who makes a face and then shrugs.

"Just be safe," she settles on the simple comment, though it makes Emily roll her eyes hard.

"I'll be in the other room," Emily mumbles before she disappears out of the kitchen.

She walks into the living room to find her girlfriend making light conversation with her father, laughing about something. Emily can't see what they're laughing at since her father's back is facing her direction, but, as she approaches the two, she can make out the edges of a large book and immediately groans.

"I should have known not to leave you two alone," she sits down across from the two who are giggling at a plethora of photos, most of a young, front-toothless Emily.

"Yeah, you should have," Alison grins as Wayne chuckles.

"Parental right. I'm supposed to show her your baby pictures," the older man speaks without looking up.

He points to another photo and whispers something, causing Alison to snicker while Emily groans nearby, putting her head in her hands. Pam, upon hearing the distressed sound, walks into the room and makes an enthusiastic noise, standing behind Alison and her husband in order to see the pictures as well. The older woman reaches down and points to a picture of Emily at the beach, chuckling before making the comment, "She's always loved the beach. I remember how innocent she was, sitting in the sand and pouring it everywhere."

"No," Wayne shakes his head, "she was never innocent at the beach. I found a hermit crab or two in my shoes on multiple occasions."

"Yeah… that hasn't changed," Alison grimaces at the memory of the brunette waving a small crab in her face.

Emily giggles while her girlfriend rehashes the story, earning a joint laugh from the older couple. Alison continues to pay attention to Emily's parents who point at specific photos and tell old stories; she's happy to learn more about her girlfriend's childhood, and she finds it adorable how embarrassed Emily is getting.

"Here's Emmy with her first art award. Second grade," Wayne motions to a picture of a young Emily who holds a giant, colored _"_ M _"_ slightly in front of her face as she smiles big.

"What's the 'M' for?" Alison tilts her head as she looks up at her girlfriend who smiles while shaking her head.

"We were told to decorate our first name's initial," she explains. "I was always called 'Em,' so, even though I knew my full name began with an 'E,' I figured that my nickname began with an 'M'."

"That's the cutest thing I've ever heard," Alison gushes and Emily's cheeks turn bright red, burying her face in her hands as her parents giggle at the reaction.

"Hey, I still won," the younger brunette points towards the three that are still laughing.

"You did," her father nods with an impressed expression. "We were so proud."

Emily purses her lips and bows her head, breathing out a small sigh when her mother looks around the room with a now-awkward body language. Alison glances at her girlfriend who checks the time.

"We should probably get going," Emily speaks as she stands up.

"Already?" Pam furrows her eyebrows.

"I have work in the morning, and I want to quickly show Alison around Rosewood before we head back."

"Oh," comes her mother's initial response. "Okay, then."

"I'm glad you two stopped by," Wayne smiles as he hugs Alison first, followed by a big hug with his daughter.

"Mhm," Emily hums as she returns the hug before moving on to embrace her mother — and _quickly_ , at that.

"Come back soon," Mrs. Fields hugs Alison next, and it isn't as awkward as Emily (or Alison) expected.

Emily guides her girlfriend to the front door before she opens it and they step outside. Her mother follows them onto the front porch, giving the two a polite send-off as she watches Emily get into the driver's seat with a quick "You can drive home, but I'm taking you to a few places first." The older woman's expression is unreadable, like most of the evening, but she waves at the vehicle as it pulls out of the driveway. She sees the blonde passenger waving back, and she smiles kindly as the dark-grey car fades out of sight.

"Well, that was fun," Alison's tone is half-sarcastic, half-serious. "Dinner was nice."

"Yeah, I guess," Emily responds, driving further through her old childhood town.

"What did she say to you in the kitchen?" the blonde is cautious to ask, but she wants to know.

"She just… tried to blame my bad mood on everyone _but_ herself, like usual."

"Everyone as in… me?"

Emily doesn't confirm nor deny the assumption, but Alison nods her head at the silence, pressing her tongue against her inner cheek.

"Em, I get it," she consoles. "Her only daughter is dating someone and it's a serious relationship. It might be difficult for her to wrap her head around."

"Why are you defending her? She was practically pointing fingers at you for no reason at all. You were nothing but polite while we were there, and she has no reason to…" Emily shakes her head as her voice trails off.

"I'm not defending her," Alison gently corrects, "but I'm just saying that, maybe, she knows how serious we are and she's nervous that I'm not the right fit for you."

"But you _are_ the right fit for me," Emily clenches her jaw as she parks in front of her old high school. "Are you the right fit for _her_ tastes? That's a different story."

"I'm not trying to conform to your parents' standards, Em, and you know that. As long as I satisfy you, I'm happy," Alison shrugs before pausing and adding, "and I mean that in the most non-sexual way."

Emily rolls her eyes before muttering, "I know that," with a sigh.

They sit quietly in the parking space. The engine is cut and silence consumes the confined space as Alison unbuckles and turns towards her girlfriend, tilting her head as she reaches across the center console and grabs the girl's hand again.

"I'm trying not to complain too much," the brunette suddenly confesses while she plays with the steering wheel's material using her left hand. "Your parents are much worse than mine."

"Emily, it's not a contest," Alison comforts with a frown. "If they upset you, then that's valid. Anything that makes you feel is valid."

"What if I become… like my mom?" Emily looks at Alison with broken eyes. "I love her, I do, but…"

"She's overwhelming?" Alison finishes with a sad chuckle, rubbing her thumb along Emily's hand.

" _So_ overwhelming."

"I hope this doesn't offend you, but you're _nothing_ like your mother," Alison earns a grin from Emily which, honestly, wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "Looks, sure, but your personalities are nowhere near similar."

" _God_ , thank you," Emily breathes out and leans her head back against the headrest, earning an arched eyebrow from her girlfriend.

"Em, even if you _were_ like her, I'd love you anyway, and I hope you know that."

"I know, but I don't know if _I'd_ love me," Emily bites her bottom lip. "I'm aware of my protectiveness, and sometimes it even becomes too much to handle on _my_ end, but I guess it's just me."

"And I'm glad that it's you," Alison (after a small struggle) leans over the center console and presses a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek. "I love you, and _please_ , never change."

"Change is inevitable," Emily smirks when Alison rolls her eyes.

"You know what I mean."

The brunette nods her head suddenly with a quiet "Okay."

Alison stares at the other girl for a few more minutes before turning her attention towards their surroundings. She looks around, understanding that this is probably Emily's old high school — which, obviously, she's correct about.

"I'm guessing that this is the famous Rosewood High," she comments as she looks at the front doors.

" _Famous_ ," Emily breathes out in a mocking tone, "not so much, but yes."

"Lots of memories?"

"Hmm, kind of, but not really. School was school," she shrugs as she turns the car on again.

"What? We're leaving already?"

"Did you expect me to give you a tour of the entire school? On a Sunday evening? When it's locked?"

"Okay, I get it," Alison laughs. "No, I don't know what I expected."

"Next," Emily speaks as she pulls out of the space and back onto the road, "we'll be passing by The Brew, which is where I often hung out with the others."

"Sipping coffee while gossiping?" the blonde smirks as she makes sure her seatbelt is fastened properly.

"I guess you could say that," Emily snickers.

The ride is short, and Emily nods towards a few other small buildings, telling stories about them or pointing out the fact that they weren't there before she moved. Alison pays close attention, asking random questions as she tries to learn more about the town; during the ride, she gathers the assumption that people tend to leave Rosewood faster than others arrive, and that's because Emily explains how many of her classmates moved away after high school. From the way the brunette describes her graduation, it seems as though people grow impatient and bored around the town, so it doesn't surprise Alison one bit that Emily ended up somewhere a bit more crowded and fast-paced.

"There it is," the brunette ducks her head a bit so she can see The Brew's sign. "Now _there's_ a place with memories."

"Are we going in?" Alison questions with narrowed eyes.

"No," Emily shakes her head.

"Not feeling very reminiscent today?" the other girl's eyes are curious and the brunette purses her lips a few times before responding.

" _Mm_ , no. I just have somewhere else in mind that I'd like to show you."

"Alright," Alison squints her eyes skeptically, a small smile gracing her face.

She leans back as Emily drives further away from The Brew, the city-portion of the town fading away into the back as trees become more dense. As they progress through (what Alison assumes to be) the edge of Rosewood, bigger houses come into view, most surrounded by forests. The big, suburban houses are adorned with various shutters, intricate front porches, and nice driveways, obviously one of the nicer parts of town. They look… cozy ━ just like Alison had pointed out earlier.

The brunette gently stops the car, parking it alongside someone's house. When Emily begins to unbuckle, Alison looks at her curiously.

"We're going to have to do a bit of walking," Emily informs as she opens the door.

"Wait, you're just going to leave the car parked in front of someone's house?" Alison follows suit and shuts her door as she stands on the pavement.

"It's Spencer's parents' house. We'll be fine."

Wasting no time, Emily enters a thin layer of forest, tugging on Alison's hand so she sticks close by. The trees grow more dense and some shrubs are overgrown, covering the thin, dirt path every now and then. Emily, however, knows exactly where to go, having been to the location a few times when she was younger — and she's never forgotten, since it provided her with a sense of comfort back then. Alison continues to follow, swatting at bugs as they try to attack her, though it's much less buggy than one would expect on a warm, Sunday afternoon.

The path winds a few times with occasional hills and dips, but nothing too strenuous, and the foliage seems to thin out while they're in the midst of their journey. Every now and then, they hear rustling nearby, and Emily notes, "Probably just a squirrel," which Alison shoots her a look for. Otherwise, as far as noise, everything is relatively quiet aside from the crunching of leaves and twigs. Neither girl speaks for much of the walk, until the blonde stumbles over something and huffs.

"This wasn't in the day's itinerary, Em," Alison grunts when she nearly trips over another fallen branch.

"Because it's a surprise," the brunette chuckles when her girlfriend glares at the branch that nearly killed her.

Alison shakes her head and walks next to her girlfriend, occasionally bumping their shoulders on purpose. It doesn't take much longer before they've reached their destination: a large rock in the center of a wooded area. Surrounding the rock is plenty of empty space, almost like someone intentionally cut down trees in order to make a little camping area, however the rock would make it difficult since it's pretty much in the dead center of the dirt circle.

"I used to come here when I wanted to get away from everything," Emily confesses quietly as Alison circles the boulder.

When the other girl doesn't respond, Emily continues.

"People in school used to say that this rock is special. Something about hearing the ghosts of past lovers whispering in your ear when you take someone here," she shrugs. "I never heard anything."

"Emily Fields," Alison gently scolds with a smile. "Am I standing on sacred ground for you?"

" _No_ ," she giggles as if the notion is ridiculous. "Every time I came here… I was always alone."

"Maybe that's why you never heard anything," the other girl moves closer, "but… good, because I almost felt the need to make my own mark."

"Maybe I wanted you to," Emily helps narrow the distance.

" _Maybe_?" Alison tilts her head while narrowing her eyes, her hands grabbing at the other girl's shirt to pull her closer.

"Mhm," the brunette hums as their lips briefly brush against one another.

When Alison pulls away abruptly, Emily's eyebrows furrow and the blonde smirks at the expression. Quickly, Alison takes her girlfriend's hands and walks backwards, carefully guiding them back towards the rock so they can sit. Eventually, they successfully get situated on the rock's surface, sitting closely and both acting a bit nervous.

Emily, however, makes the first move as she brushes a strand of Alison's hair behind her ear. Her hand shakes slightly, which is a weird feeling since it's not like this is their first intimate encounter. Alison, in response, swallows hard before bringing her right hand up to cup Emily's cheek, finally connecting their lips in a slow-paced kiss. It doesn't take long (which isn't all that surprising) for the kiss to deepen, both girls making sure they don't, somehow, fall over in the process. Their lips move in perfect sync, and the atmosphere thickens, but they mutually break apart so they can rest their foreheads against one another.

"I think I heard the whispers," Alison mumbles and Emily breathes out a laugh.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

This, obviously, grants another long kiss which ends in Emily pouting when Alison finally pulls back. The brunette sits on the rock while her girlfriend gets up and stretches, offering her a hand eventually.

"Time to go home," Alison's voice is calm and comforting.

"Good."

X X X

The sound of Alison's car door slamming wakes Emily as her head jolts forward a bit. She rubs at her face before the passenger's side door opens right next to her, followed by Alison's soft voice.

"Someone's sleepy," she giggles. "We're back."

"Did I really fall asleep on you?" Emily rubs at her forehead before unbuckling and getting out of the car slowly.

"Mhm, but it's okay."

"I didn't plan on falling asleep."

"It's fine, Em. You seemed out of it within ten minutes of getting onto the road," Alison holds her girlfriend's hand as they cross the street, slowly making their way towards the brick building.

Hours ago, when they had finally gotten back to the car, Alison immediately ran to the driver's side, just in case Emily tried to sneak in first. The brunette, in response, groaned but relented, automatically sliding into the passenger's seat and getting as comfortable as she could. Once the vehicle started up, Alison maneuvered her way throughout the town while Emily directed her where to go. It was easy, surprisingly, and they were on one of the main strips of pavement pretty quickly, which is when the brunette began to doze off.

Throughout much of the ride, Emily's eyelids flickered and she shifted in her seat, which made Alison feel a bit curious as to what she was thinking or dreaming about. The blonde never woke her up, however, because she knew that Emily must have felt exhausted after the visit. Instead, she stole periodic glances at the sleeping girl next to her, smiling softly and focusing on the road so the ride went as smoothly as possible. At one point towards the end of the ride, she found Emily's hand resting near the center console, and she intertwined their fingers as she carefully steered with one hand — which, if the brunette knew, she'd likely lecture on Alison why it was a stupid idea.

Emily pushes the front door open once Alison unlocks it, and they enter the hallway a split second later.

"Go get comfortable, babe," the blonde nods towards the loft area, turning around afterwards so she can face the other girl. "I'm staying down here for a bit, if you'd like to join after."

"Okay," Emily gives her a dopey (and seriously tired) smile as she pecks her girlfriend on the lips.

She makes her way up the staircase soon after, groaning dramatically while she climbs the first few steps. Alison snorts at the exaggeration and walks into the kitchen, pulling a water bottle out of the fridge and taking a sip before shoving it back into the same spot. She stretches and twists her torso, grimacing a bit when something cracks due to sitting in the same position for over two hours. When she finally walks into the living room, Emily meets her there, dressed up in a bedtime t-shirt and baggy shorts, still rubbing her knuckles against her eyelids. She stands there and sniffles a bit, earning a small laugh from Alison who motions towards the couch.

"I told Hanna that we'd FaceTime her once we got home," Alison confesses and Emily's head drops as she throws herself across the cushions.

"Actually, I told you that _you'd_ FaceTime her," she continues and Emily shoots her a look.

"You hate me," Emily drones as Alison sits down, lifting her girlfriend's head so she can act like a pillow once situated.

"Mhm, definitely," the blonde rolls her eyes as she bends down so she can kiss the other girl.

Emily taps away on her phone, first forgetting what she's doing, then remembering that she's supposed to FaceTime Hanna. Once comfortable in Alison's lap (with the blonde playing with her girlfriend's hair), she taps Hanna's name and the call goes through, taking a few extra seconds before her best friend picks up. When she does answer, however, the girl is already talking.

"How'd it go?" Hanna gets out quickly.

"Hello to you too," Emily's eyes flicker at the light that Hanna had just put on in the background.

"Uh oh," the blonde on the other end drones, "you don't look all that enthusiastic."

"I'm exhausted," she breathes out as Alison continues to run her nails along her scalp.

"Was it _that_ bad?"

"No. Well," she corrects herself, "you know how they are."

"Aw, you mean that they didn't pre-arrange a marriage for you and Alison?" Hanna smirks at Emily who rolls her eyes.

The other blonde sitting partially underneath Emily chuckles at the sarcastic remark, and Hanna throws an elongated " _Alison_ " through the speaker.

" _Hanna_ ," Alison mimics the tone without taking the phone.

"But really, Em, what happened?" Hanna asks out of pure curiosity and concern.

"The usual. Mom was intrusive, secretly bitter, and still doesn't really know me after all these years," Emily shrugs and makes a face. "I didn't expect anything different, though, so I guess that's good."

"I'm sorry, Emily," Hanna bites her inner cheek and uses her best friend's full first name, which is pretty rare; really, she only uses it when they're being completely serious, or if she's scolding the brunette for whatever reason.

"It's fine," she breathes out.

"No, it's really not. Was she okay with Alison?"

Alison bites her bottom lip and her eyes scan the room, thinking to herself how the encounter went from her own viewpoint. It went well, overall, and she's happy to have _really_ met them, but she wishes that Emily had a better time — that's the only thing that really held her back from being completely fine with the visit.

"I think…" Emily looks up at her girlfriend who nods, then she looks back into the camera. "I wasn't in the best mood though, and Mom could tell. She kept asking if Alison—"

"Seriously?" Hanna cuts her off. "If you tell me that _goody-goody_ Mama Fields accused your girlfriend of upsetting you, I don't know what I'll do but it won't be good."

"I won't tell you then," Emily chuckles dryly and looks away.

Hanna's eyes bug out, "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"You know her, Han. She's always been like that."

"And it's fucking ridiculous. Is she blind? Can she not see how much you and Alison love each other? Even _Caleb_ can see it and he's—"

"—he's what, Hanna?" Emily hears Caleb's voice float through the speaker from somewhere behind her blonde best friend.

Alison and Emily both burst into fits of laughter as Hanna lets out a shaky chuckle, muttering a quick "Nevermind, babe" and glaring at Emily who purses her lips.

"I'm just saying that I don't know why she'd randomly assume that Ali's upsetting you," Hanna finally shrugs.

"Probably because she just wants to blame someone," Emily mimics the shrug.

"How was your dad?"

"Quiet, as per usual. He pulled out the baby pictures though," she makes a face and Alison chuckles in the background while Hanna squeaks through the speaker.

"Alison, wasn't little Emily so cute?" Hanna gushes. "Like… what happened?"

"How original," the brunette deadpans and her girlfriend continues to play with her hair.

"Okay, okay, but did Ali like Rosewood? Actually, who am I kidding, does anyone _really_ like Rosewood?"

"It was cute," Alison interrupts. "Emily showed me a few of the town's hot spots."

"Like where?" Hanna raises her eyebrow and the brunette blushes, which her best friend does not miss one bit.

"Rosewood High, The Brew, Spencer's house, and—" Alison lists before she gets interrupted by Hanna who is already giggling.

"The Kissing Rock?" the other blonde is wearing a smug look. "Emily Fields _finally_ got her kiss on at The Kissing Rock, didn't she?"

"Is that really the name of it?" Alison snorts at the title.

"I used to go there to think and I wanted to show her!" the brunette defends her actions with blushing cheeks.

" _Yeah_ , you wanted to show her how it felt to make out on top of a dusty rock in the middle of the woods," Hanna continues to tease.

Emily bites her bottom lip and stays silent while Alison tries to keep herself from laughing too hard. Instead, the blonde sitting on the couch goes back to focusing on Emily's hair, playing with the soft strands while her girlfriend attempts to ignore her best friend even more.

"So… did you hear the whispers?" Hanna bounces her eyebrows up and down.

At that, Emily tilts her chin upwards, and (without bothering to whisper) asks her girlfriend "Why did you make me call her?"

"Hey!" the other blonde interrupts with a squeak. "I'm a delight and you know it."

"Maybe we should ask Caleb if you're a delight," Emily offers the rebuttal and hears a deep snicker from the speaker, somewhere near Hanna.

"Alison," Hanna whines, "help me out."

"No, no," Emily interrupts before her girlfriend can respond. "You don't deserve any backup."

"Well, actually—" Alison tries, but is quickly brought to silence when Emily's hand flies over her mouth.

"Let her speak, Fields," Hanna warns.

Alison smiles gently before placing kisses along Emily's palm, causing the brunette to bite her lower lip when it begins to tickle. Hanna holds her glare, but relents once Emily mimics the expression as much as she can.

"Fine," the other blonde breathes out. "I'm going to bed. We have work in the morning."

"Wow, and it's _before_ three in the morning?" Emily's eyes bug. "What did Caleb do to you?"

"Funny," Hanna's response is short and sarcastic. "I just have adult things to do now-a-days. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

Emily snorts at the response, though Alison's lips are now pressing against her wrist, gently gliding over the skin. While Hanna does something away from the camera, the brunette glances up at her girlfriend who arches a daring eyebrow, causing Emily to bite her lip again and turn back towards the screen.

"Okay, you'll be hearing from me soon," the girl sighs into the speaker.

"Lucky me," Emily rolls her eyes and Alison bites at her wrist, earning a breathy grunt.

"Can't you be sweet to me for one second?"

"One second? Maybe," Emily continues to tease Hanna, earning another bite. " _Ow_ ," she looks at Alison who giggles.

"I don't even want to know," Hanna shakes her head. "Goodnight, both of you," she flashes a cheesy smile and blows a kiss into the camera before the call ends.

Once the FaceTime screen disappears, Emily lifts her chin again and shoots her girlfriend a look.

"If I have a bite mark on my wrist tomorrow, we're fighting," she says pointedly.

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

After thinking carefully, Emily narrows her eyes, "Threat."

"So, you're not serious enough to make it a promise? Is it because you realize that I'd likely beat you to a pulp?" the blonde challenges with a smirk.

"No, it's because I don't want to hurt you," Emily shifts her head before sitting up on the cushions.

" _Sure_ ," Alison fires back as she watches her girlfriend get off of the couch.

"I hear your tone, and I'm too tired to prove you wrong," Emily breathes out with a sniffle.

The other girl laughs slightly, getting up and walking over to Emily. She wraps her arms around the brunette's torso, taking a deep breath when she lays her head on the girl's shoulder.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Alison mumbles.

"Please," Emily laughs at the question, almost whining at the same time.

The two make their way upstairs, jumping (well, not literally) into bed quickly so they can get comfortable as soon as possible. Like Alison declared hours ago, she wraps her arms around her girlfriend's body, making sure that the brunette gets to be the little spoon all night. When Emily finally gets completely situated, the blankets wrapped tightly around their bodies, the other girl snuggles closer, pressing her front up against the brunette's backside. Within minutes of silence and slow breathing, Alison moves Emily's hair to one side so she can kiss the girl's dragonfly tattoo. She drags her lips across the skin, causing Emily to get goosebumps along her arms as her breathing picks up.

In response to Alison's actions, Emily turns her head slightly, silently asking for a kiss to which her girlfriend complies. It's short and sweet, but it's satisfying and, afterwards, the two go back to their previous spooning position before drifting off to sleep within minutes.

* * *

 **How many of you knew that The Kissing Rock would make an appearance? I couldn't help myself. I think it wrapped up their visit quite nicely.**

 **If any of you are wondering about Jason, he'll make a tiny FaceTime appearance, so I won't leave anything unanswered on that end. I wanted to have Emily "meet" at least one, actual family member, so there will be a small flashback-type-thing.**

 **Okay, so, who thinks that Emily kind of… jumped the gun and didn't give her mother a real chance to behave? ━ Who thinks that Emily has her reasons to feel the way she does, and she obviously hasn't forgotten anything that's happened during her teenage years (and further back)? ━ To offer a slight explanation, from what I've written since the start of this story, Emily's past with her parents (and her relationship with them) is very stained and strained. She wants to have a great relationship with them (on-screen, for example), but it's difficult to let go of their unsupportive nature. It's unfortunate, that's for sure, but it happens. ━ Anyway, they'll be back for a flashback in the epilogue and I think it's extremely moving.**

 ***Blows nose* Next chapter is the last main chapter. We've come so far, and I'm so sad. This story is my baby. The first fic I've written all by myself (with the help of my revisor whom I will thank/mention more later). ━ I'll be updating within the next few days as a surprise, so look out for Ch 20 A.K.A. my "full-circle" chapter. It's very parallel heavy, and Emison heavy (with best friend flashbacks). Think of it as Emison's final alone chapter, whereas the epilogue will wrap up everything involving their best friends and (surprise!) Mercedes.**

 **Until then, I'll be having my own flashback montage consisting of the great times I had whilst writing this story. I wrote this fic within three months, and I think that's pretty damn quick, so it's a personal accomplishment. ━ Enjoy yourselves for the next few days (and forever). ━ As always, if you'd like to message me, do so on here or on Tumblr ("capn-charlie"). ━ Reminder: Don't forget to check out the "FIC AESTHETIC" link on my Tumblr page, just so you can really see what I've been going by this entire time whilst writing descriptions.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Surprise!**

 **This is my birthday present (yes, really) to myself (and to my dedicated readers). Enjoy today with me, please.**

 **I come bearing a new story sneak peek!**

 **…Here we are… *kicks rock in echoing room***

 **This chapter marks the last total-Emison update, whereas the epilogue serves as a wrap-up for the other couples (and Emison, obviously). ━ As for this update, I think it's basically a testament to their relationship, tying together the entire fic from the very first chapter.**

 **Without further ado, happy (or bittersweet) reading.**

* * *

Emily glances at the clock, blinking a few times when she sees that it's currently 9:43 P.M. on a Thursday night, which means that she last looked at the time five minutes ago and, obviously, her shift isn't moving at the quickest pace. All she wants to do is curl up on the couch with her girlfriend, switch on a movie, and make out for a bit — yeah, it's been one of _those_ days, and Alison feels the same way, judging by the way she's been sending _"I miss you"_ and _"You should just leave work early"_ texts all night. Really, they've been inseparable lately, and not in the "Christ, can you two take a breather for a minute?" kind of way; honestly, they're just… _connected_ , as of late, and it surprisingly hasn't bothered any of their friends since they've all gotten together a time or two at some point within the last eleven days.

Alison, during the beginning of last week, claimed CeCe and Mona for a day so she could have a nice "girls day out" — followed by the comment _"No Emily's allowed,"_ as per Alison's two best friends. Of course, it was all out of fun, and Emily was happy (or as happy as she _could_ be) to give her girlfriend a kiss goodbye before the three took a small trip into the city. They came home moderately early, practically falling through the door while giggling at something, only to spend the night with a confused Emily. The three girls rehashed their entire trip into the city, sharing a few funny stories with the attentive brunette, most regarding ridiculous things that had happened while they walked along the streets — and a few embarrassing moments on Alison's account.

Emily, a day after, had received a call from her parents. It was just another "check-in" and the conversation was short, but it went okay, so the brunette just shrugged when her girlfriend asked about it.

" _Maybe I just need to find a common ground with Mom. She'll probably always be like this, and, as long as I have you, I think I'll be able to deal with it,"_ Emily looked at the girl who sat in her lap.

" _Then you're all set for forever, because that's how long you'll have me."_

" _Okay, yeah, my cheesiness definitely rubbed off on you,"_ Emily shook her head with a chuckle.

Throughout last Friday, Hanna had gone with Alison to shop for new work clothes (actually, it was just an excuse to go shopping for the both of them), and they hit a few high-end stores, buying classy-yet-businessy dresses, skirts, and whatever else. At one point in the evening, Emily had picked up a FaceTime call from Alison, during which the blonde proclaimed, _"I cashed in my make-shift gift certificate so you're alone for the night,"_ and Emily whined while Hanna gloated nearby.

" _I'm sorry, babe. I wanted dinner and Hanna reminded me of my birthday gift, and now we're—"_

" _We're bonding!"_ Hanna cut in as she attempted to move into the camera's view. _"Don't worry, I'll share plenty of adorable stories with your girlfriend."_

" _Hanna—"_ Emily tried to interrupt, but her voice was run-over by her best friend who squeaked out a quick _"Gottagobye"_ as the call was terminated.

The rest of that evening went by relatively slow, until CeCe's name popped up on her cell phone's screen. She answered, of course, though she was thinking that something bad was happening. Instead, the voices of both CeCe and Mona floated through the speaker with late-night dinner invitations.

" _Let's go, Em Em,"_ Mona sang through the phone. _"Your girlfriend is out with your bestie, so now you're coming out with your girlfriend's besties."_

" _You two can just come here."_

" _Nope, but we'll pick you up in fifteen minutes so be ready,"_ CeCe's voice interrupted before the call was cut.

It worked out, in Emily's opinion, because she had such a nice time "bonding" with Alison's best friends, though they decided to interrogate her a few times during the night. They'd ask her the most random (and somewhat invasive) questions, putting on fake-serious expressions and folding their arms on the pub table's surface, waiting for answers to things such as _"What are your true intentions with Miss Alison?"_ and _"Do you promise to be the most satisfying lover ever?"_ Emily, during a question or two, swallowed her drink hard, and Mona noted, _"Nervous, I see. Good."_ Towards the end of their time together, however, the two confessed that they were obviously kidding, and they're happy for the couple. Emily made conversation with them about their own love lives, and found out that both CeCe and Mona are happy with how things are going with their respective boyfriends.

" _Did Alison ever tell you that I said 'thank you'?"_ CeCe raised an eyebrow, though she pretty much already knew the answer.

" _No, she didn't."_

" _Yeah, I didn't think she would,"_ the blonde girl shook her head with a laugh.

The two drove home with Emily around midnight and, when CeCe brought the vehicle to a standstill next to the brick building, the taller brunette invited them to stay, noting, _"You guys can stay over, if you'd like. The shop is closed tomorrow for inspection, so I'm off."_ The other two girls, in response, kind of looked at one another and shrugged collectively, accepting the invitation with the comments _"I'm down"_ and _"Alright, but I want wine."_ CeCe, after accepting the invite, allowed the other two girls to get out of the car before speeding off to buy some drinks for the sleepover. Mona and Emily, on the other hand, picked out some movies (actually, it was mostly Mona), and got comfortable with some snacks before CeCe barged in, wine bottle in hand.

During their movie time (which Emily was surprised to find out that Mona had picked _Taken_ ), they shared more stories and had a few heart-to-heart's, all while Alison began bombarding Emily with a flurry of texts including messages saying _"I can't believe you're stealing my best friends now"_ and _"I'll just have Hanna tell me more high school stories about you."_ Emily shook her head at most messages, smirking slightly and getting teased for it; _"You better not be sexting over there."_ She, of course, launched a pillow in CeCe's direction for the comment.

" _No, but really, where are we sleeping?"_ the blonde girl arched an eyebrow at Emily who scrunched her own eyebrows together.

" _You two can sleep—"_

" _I'm not sleeping in your bed. I know what happens under those sheets,"_ Mona said pointedly, causing Emily to shut up real quick.

" _Fine, we can all sleep down here."_

" _Is the couch sanitized?"_ CeCe smirked and another pillow was flung her way.

When Alison came back the next day, Hanna in tow, they walked into the house to find the three other girls lounging around the living room. As a result, the five of them spent Saturday together until later that evening when Hanna went home to see Caleb, Mona got picked up by Mike, and CeCe left to meet Vincent wherever. It worked out, in the end, because Alison and Emily were left alone eventually; _"Now that I've got you all to myself,"_ Alison shifted closer on the couch, _"I missed you last night."_

The next few days were much quieter and extremely fluffy when it came to the vibe between Alison and Emily; there was cuddling, soft kissing, and gentle love-making for a string of days at the beginning of the new week. On the other hand, aside from those activities, Alison sent more money to her parents (save the return address), was informed that the restraining order is _finally_ set in stone, and she's feeling genuinely good and accomplished — she's been feeling these emotions more and more lately, and they both love it. She's gained confidence and a sense of closure, no longer letting her past haunt her (as much as it did, at least).

Additionally, the couple sat down on Tuesday around 6 P.M. and FaceTimed Jason. He picked up the call straight away, his deep voice flowing through the speakers as he spoke to Alison individually (since Emily made sure to only linger nearby at first). The brunette could tell how much her girlfriend missed Jason, judging by the way the blonde's voice cracked when she said, _"I've missed you."_ Her brother, of course, returned the sentiment, and he went on to tell Alison what's been going on. Apparently, he works with law enforcement in Washington, helping them come across low-level drug cartels, which (as per Alison's worries) can be pretty dangerous, but he's happy.

" _No girlfriend? Fiancée? Wife?"_ Alison bombarded him with the words, earning a bunch of chuckling.

" _No, no, and no."_

Alison, in return, clued him in on what she's been doing with her life, discussing what happened with Elliott, their parents (to which Jason grunted), and her new job.

" _I'm happy for you, Ali,"_ he spoke with a smile that Emily could see from her spot nearby. _"Proud, even."_

" _There's something else,"_ Alison smiled gently and pulled her girlfriend into the camera's view. _"This is Emily."_

At that, Jason raised his eyebrows before narrowing his eyes (and it shocked Emily how alike his expression and Alison's are), smiling with a simple, _"I knew there was something that you weren't telling me. You're… softer."_

" _I am not,"_ Alison squeaked out, not very offended but still acting as such.

Emily and Jason got along great, and the three of them planned to meet up someday when scheduling allowed. It warmed Alison's heart when her brother and girlfriend connected so quickly, both wanting her to be safe and happy and, obviously, Jason gave them his "blessing" of sorts. After the call, the blonde breathed out a deep, happy sigh, and shed a tear or two with a quiet _"Thank you for everything."_ Emily, to no surprise, teased, _"We're not back to this 'thank you' thing, are we?"_

" _Seriously, Em. Thank you."_

" _I love you, Alison,"_ came Emily's response, and the blonde cuddled up to her girlfriend with an _"I really love you too."_

Emily, trying to break out of her thoughts, drums her hands on No End's front desk, sitting behind its laptop as she waits for a new client to come in. Truly, the entire day has been excruciatingly slow and she's only had one or two solid clients, adding to the one small consultation period she had towards the beginning of her shift. She looks at the laptop's clock which now reads 9:51 P.M. and she grunts slightly, earning a chuckle from Brixton who passes through one of the back room's curtain barriers. He walks behind where she's seated at the desk in order to rummage through the space underneath the counter before pulling out a new roll of paper towels and tossing them onto the desk's surface. The bell chimes as he gathers the cleaning supplies and walks away from Emily who is now typing away on the laptop, throwing out a polite "Hello there, Alison" before heading back into the room from which he previously came.

"Hey…" Emily looks curiously at the blonde who just walked into the shop, "did something happen?" her eyebrows furrow in confusion when Alison's expression is unreadable.

"No," she answers shortly, looking around the parlor's lounge as Emily stands behind the front desk; this face-to-face interaction brings back memories of their first run-in, especially due to the weather and timing.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you, Ali, but why are you here?" the artist behind the desk chuckles as her girlfriend leans over the countertop, much like that specific Thursday night.

"I want to get a tattoo," the blonde finally smirks.

Emily's eyes narrow a bit as she places her palms flat on the black surface and tilts her head a fraction.

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Alison snorts.

"I—I don't know," Emily stutters and shakes her head gently.

The brunette continues, "Um," and bites her cheek, "of what?"

"I've been debating, but…" the other girl pauses, "I want to get _'4/27'_ underneath my collarbone. What do you think?"

"I thought we discussed this. You don't need to commemorate your freedom from Elliott, Ali."

Alison chuckles and rolls her eyes before leaning over the counter a bit further.

"Em, that's not the date I want to get done," the blonde raises an eyebrow. "It's the date when we first met."

Emily looks at the desk's surface in sudden realization before she sighs heavily and Alison looks slightly taken aback. Before the blonde can ask what's wrong, Emily jumps to explain due to the partial look of hurt in her girlfriend's eyes.

"Don't assume that I don't like the idea, Alison, because I can tell that's what you're thinking," she states bluntly.

She continues, "I just… I know that I said I'd never leave you and, _trust me_ , I still mean it," Emily is quick to defend herself before the other girl's thoughts can even begin to run rampant, "but, personally, I'm a bit superstitious. That's all. Like… what if _you_ wanted to leave _me_ , but you can't escape the memories because I'm _always_ with you."

"That's why I want to get it, Em," Alison speaks softly, knowing where her girlfriend is coming from, however looking at it more positively. "I don't want to escape the memories. Not now, not ever."

Alison shakes her head but continues, "Not these memories. This isn't about us dating, Emily. This is about how you've changed me in so many ways and… I feel like, when you came along, I found a part of myself that I didn't even know was missing. I _need_ to dothis."

A few, silence-filled beats pass through the air, both girls just looking at one another without blinking. Emily breaks the eye contact first, biting at her inner cheek before a small smile graces her face.

"Okay," she takes a deep breath with a now-full smile, "as long as you're positive," she points a finger at her girlfriend who wears a matching smile.

"Definitely."

"I'll have Brixton take you after this client so I can be there, just in case," Emily taps away at a few buttons on the shop's computer.

"Actually," Alison says quietly, suddenly looking shy and timid, "I was thinking that you could do it."

Immediately, most of the air feels like it's gone from Emily's lungs. It's not a bad thing, in the grand scheme of things, but it's out of nervousness; the entire concept of tattooing her girlfriend never even crossed her mind, though she'd be lying if she said that it doesn't sound appealing or intimate. She wants to do it, definitely, but who's to say the nerves won't consume her before they even make it into the back room? What if Alison ends up hating it? What if she regrets it or, _God_ , what if Emily ends up hurting the blonde?

" _Hello?_ " Alison reaches over and takes Emily's hand in her own, laughing quietly when she realizes how far they've come.

Emily purses her lips and looks into those blue eyes as her smile from before resurfaces.

"I'll do it," she nods her head gently, though her heart feels like it's shaking.

"Really?" the blonde's teeth shine through her smile.

"Mhm," Emily's eyes shift to the laptop's screen once again as she checks her own schedule, "lucky for you, I don't have any consultations for the rest of the night. I'm all yours," she exits out of the file and pulls out a small stack of paperwork.

"That's how it should always be," Alison flashes a smirk while Emily slides the papers across the desk's surface.

"Read and sign these," the brunette matches the smirk when Alison groans. "And I need your license."

"Fine," she hands the other girl her license before beginning to scan the papers one by one, eventually signing and dating along the bottom lines.

Once Alison finishes signing, she slides the stack of papers across the desk while Emily slides the girl's license back towards her.

"Don't I need to give you a…" Alison searches for the word.

"Deposit? Yeah, but no. I got it. Think of it as a celebratory gift for getting your first tattoo," Emily smiles, earning a matching one from her girlfriend.

The artist rounds the front desk and motions for Alison to follow. The pair pass through the felt curtains, entering the room next to Brixton's personal tattooing space. Alison's been in this specific room a time before, only when she was writing for her previous company, so she isn't all that phased by the various tattooing instruments and ink bottles ━ but it's still impressive. She waits as her girlfriend places some paper-like material on the back of one of the black chairs until she's given the O.K. to sit down. Emily bites her inner cheek as she rummages through her cleaning supplies before she finds a bottle of special sanitizing spray so she can wipe down the stainless steel cart that holds her inks and tools. Once that's done, Emily sits down in her own rolling stool, pulling out a piece of looseleaf and a pen.

"So, what exactly do you want it to say? Like… do you want it to be made of all numbers, or the month and day…?" she throws out a few suggestions, clicking the Sharpie pen multiple times as she speaks animatedly.

"Just numbers. Four, twenty-seven."

"Okay, _and…_ a slash between the numbers, just a space, a period… what?"

Alison moves her eyes around the room in thought, earning a chuckle from her girlfriend who waits while she plays with the pen.

"We can come back to that if you can't decide right now," she gives the blonde a knowing look. "Size?"

"About this big," Alison holds her fingers out, creating a space that's roughly two and a half inches wide.

"Okay, and do you have a specific font in mind?"

"Um, not really. Something nice," she giggles at the description and Emily rolls her eyes.

When the artist looks back towards the paper in thought, Alison mutters a "Wait" and Emily spins her chair around again, facing her girlfriend who, seemingly, got an idea.

"Your font," she says with another shy smile. "Handwriting, I mean."

"My handwriting sucks, Ali."

"I love your handwriting."

"Have you ever even seen my handwriting?" Emily raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, actually. I recently watched you co-sign and date the car dealership papers," the blonde reminds and her girlfriend bounces her head back and forth in understanding.

"Alison, you and I both know that I won't stop hearing about it if I mess up with this."

"Then you better draw carefully," Alison flashes her a devilish smirk.

Emily raises her eyebrows in agreement and quickly sketches out a design, noting the length of the date, spacing them carefully, and making sure everything is as neat as possible (for a rough draft). She pauses for a moment when she feels Alison's gaze on her back, side-eyeing the blonde who looks away quickly with a chuckle. Shaking her head, she turns her attention back to the piece of paper and sketches a bit more, craning her neck in different directions so she can measure the rest and make sure it's all even.

"Did you decide on what you want between the numbers, yet?" she throws the question over her shoulder.

"Nope," comes Alison's short and carefree reply. "I'm sure you can figure something out."

"Are you _trying_ to make your first tattoo experience difficult, or what?"

"A little of both," she shrugs, though Emily can't see.

"Don't forget, I'm the one using the needles," Emily reminds and Alison's eyes widen slightly.

A few more moments pass before the brunette spins her chair around, showing her girlfriend what she's drawn out: the numbered date (as requested) in her own handwriting, spaced out by a small "x" lined up with the bottom of the numbers. Her handwriting has always been a bit sharp, so (for this specific occasion) she went out of her way to flatten out the edges of her numbers, creating a clean-cut look.

"Is this good? You can change it as much as you like. Just let me know before we begin," Emily searches Alison's face for any sign of distaste, but finds none.

"It's perfect," she finally smiles, but they can both tell that she's starting to get nervous.

"Are you _sure_? Completely positive?"

"Yes," the blonde girl breathes out a laugh. "Do it."

"And are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"If you ask if I'm sure one more time—"

"Okay, okay," Emily raises her hands in surrender, "I'm just checking."

The brunette rolls her chair backwards with the design in hand, placing it onto the table ink-down so it reverses. She tapes two corners to the stainless steel surface before draping an even thinner piece of paper over the sketch. Carefully, she picks up the special blue marker and traces the lines underneath, barely breathing so she doesn't mess up in the process. It takes about ten minutes since she has to straighten out a few lines that had smudged while tracing, but, when it's ready, she takes a deep breath and backs up.

" _Mhm_ ," she hums to herself as she begins to re-sterilize the tattooing gun, wrapping a small, plastic baggy around the handle carefully so her uncovered hands barely touch it.

Alison watches on as Emily pulls a pair of latex gloves onto her hands and spreads paper towels across the table, noting that the brunette's hair always looks so nice when it's messily pinned up for work, exposing her dragonfly tattoo. The artist hums a tune quietly, but Alison still chuckles when she hears it, causing Emily to roll her eyes when she's been caught. Bending down so she's closer to the new, tiny, plastic cup, Emily squeezes a multitude of black ink droplets into the container, making sure it doesn't overflow. Next, she gets another small cup for water — just in case she needs to get the ink off of the needles. Finally, after taking another deep breath, she gathers a bundle of paper towels, some weird-looking gel, and recounts her equipment to make sure everything is clean and ready.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you think this is going to hurt?" Alison finally breaks the silence and Emily laughs at the new-found nervousness.

"For you… I'd say a five."

"A five?!" she squeaks out. "I'm not weak, Em."

"I'm not saying that you're weak. I'm saying that tattoos near the collarbone aren't always the most fun."

Alison huffs and leans back in the chair. Emily, soon afterwards, rolls towards her girlfriend with the bottle of gel and one last "Are you sure?" to which Alison's eyes widen with slight frustration. In response, the brunette snickers and squeezes out some of the thick lotion onto two of her fingers, rubbing it across the application area while Alison tries not to breathe — and, really, it's both because of her girlfriend's proximity and the fact that she can't wrap her mind around what's happening. Directly after, Emily pushes back a fraction in order to grab the stencil and, when she returns, she resumes her focus on the same area.

"Don't move," Emily commands as she pushes the neckline of Alison's tank top to the side — and it's unknown if she's talking to the blonde girl or the piece of clothing.

Within seconds, she smoothes out the stencil without smudging the ink, making sure no air bubbles get trapped underneath the thin paper. When she peels it off, Alison giggles a bit since it creates a small, tickling sensation, but she reclaims a solid expression once reality hits her that she's about to get her first tattoo — done by her _girlfriend_ ; it's intimate, honestly, because Emily is skillfully marking Alison's body in such a new way, and it'll be there forever — something they'll _both_ remember forever.

As the blonde waits for whatever comes next, Brixton pops his head through the curtains with an impressed expression on his face.

"Wow, Alison's getting a tattoo? Had to see for my own eyes after I heard you two talking from the next room over," he looks at Emily's work and gives her a "nice job" kind of head nod.

"Go easy on her, Neo, though I'm pretty sure you'd be in deeper trouble with her than with me if you didn't."

"See, he knows," Alison gives her girlfriend a tight-lipped smile.

"We'll see," Emily speaks absentmindedly as Brixton mumbles a quick "Have fun" before leaving.

A few seconds after, Emily presses the foot pedal a couple times to figure out what speed she'll be using. The buzzing noise makes Alison's breathing hitch, and Emily notes this because her girlfriend also twitched after the first speed test.

"Are you okay?" her voice is sympathetic, but she knows that Alison wouldn't say "no," even if she really wanted to.

"I'm fine," comes the reply and Emily internally rolls her eyes.

Moving towards Alison's side, Emily gets comfortable, adjusting her position a few times so she can draw smoothly once she starts. She brings the pedal and small, mobile table closer so she doesn't need to stretch once she's in the process, then tests the gun one more time. At the most recent buzzing noise, Alison takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, then refocuses to see Emily smirking.

"What?" the blonde chokes out.

"Someone's nervous," she coos.

"I'm fine," Alison repeats the words from before.

"Whatever you say," Emily chuckles and buzzes the instrument again.

"Okay, now you're doing that purposely," the other girl gives the artist a pointed look.

"It's not going to sound any better once it's against your skin, Ali."

"I know, but we'll actually be getting somewhere once it's against my skin."

"Alright. Just relax," Emily's tone is now comforting, and she dips her pinky into a side container of numbing gel ━ though it never _really_ helps with numbing the skin.

Alison swallows hard, especially when Emily presses the pedal and the machine starts again, causing a constant buzzing noise to fill the room. The brunette takes one last glance at her girlfriend before moving the instrument across one of the number's lines. She traces the shortest line of the "4" first, just to test the waters. Alison, on the other hand, clenches her fists but keeps her hands in her lap, biting her lower lip as her eyes dart back and forth across the room while she attempts to find something to focus on. When Emily lifts her eyes, she raises an eyebrow at Alison who breathes out a shaky laugh.

"I promise, I'm okay, Em," she comforts and the brunette nods slightly before going back to tracing.

"Tell me if you need a break," the artist instructs as she drags the needles along a longer line.

"Mhm," is all Alison can respond.

Occasionally, between line-strokes, Emily takes a paper towel and dabs the area to pick up any stray ink bubbles and, possibly, blood. She rubs gel along the skin, making sure to keep the area lubricated as she continues to trace the remaining lines. Afterwards, she colors in a few spaces within the numbers, making sure they're completely colored with ink. Alison, meanwhile, clenches her jaw whenever the needle goes anywhere close to her collarbone, and Emily takes the initiative to stop for a moment and allow the girl to take a tiny breather.

"Does it hurt?" the brunette looks at her girlfriend who breathes out.

"It doesn't _hurt_ , per se," she chuckles. "It feels like you're dragging the needles across my bone, though."

"Yeah," Emily nods her head in understanding. "We're almost done."

"Okay," Alison's eyes flicker shut as Emily retraces a few lines.

Because of the skin already being a bit tender, the stinging sensation comes back stronger, and Alison seals her lips tightly to distract herself. Emily, once finished, carefully wipes the area one last time before putting the instrument onto the table. When she rolls back, she squeezes the gel bottle again and lathers it along the new, inked wound, making sure to keep it coated before taping plastic wrap to Alison's skin so everything is covered. The blonde, while being taken care of, pays attention to her girlfriend's professionalism, noting that the other girl had acted as if she was with any other customer — aside from the subtle flirting, Alison muses to herself.

"All set," Emily finally speaks while taking off her gloves and throwing them into the nearby trash bin.

The other girl gets up and checks herself out the nearby mirror, pulling her tanktop down a bit so she can see the fresh tattoo entirely. Her face lights up upon seeing the new piece, feeling quite sentimental as Emily looks on from her seat and, eventually, clears her throat.

"Do you like it?" her voice is small.

"It's so beautiful," Alison breathes out, a tear or two filling her eyes before she blinks to make them disappear.

After the admiration (and approval), Emily brings her girlfriend back to the counter and rummages through one of the drawers underneath for a care sheet. Once she slides it across the surface, Alison rolls her eyes with a chuckle.

"Who needs a care sheet when I have you there to help me out?" she comments and Emily's expression turns pointed.

"Maybe I'm going on a spur-the-moment vacation without you."

"No, you aren't," Alison raises a daring eyebrow. "What do I owe you?"

Emily shrugs, causing the other girl to huff.

"What?" Emily says. "Don't worry about it. My treat."

"Nope," Brixton interrupts as he walks out from the other adjacent room, " _my_ treat."

"It's fine, really, I—"

"And, Emily," he cuts Alison off and turns to his employee, "why are you still here?"

"My shift doesn't end for another twelve minutes."

"Go home," the man waves his hand.

"I haven't cleaned up yet," she furrows her eyebrows.

"I'll do it, no worries. Go. Have a nice night," Brixton continues as he practically shoves Emily away from the front desk.

"Enjoy your new tattoo, Alison," he yells as the blonde girl drags her girlfriend through the door.

The two step out onto the sidewalk, arms linked together as Alison giggles at Emily's exaggerated grunting when she's yanked a few feet forward. They look up at the same time once they realize that it's starting to rain, and Emily tugs on the other girl's arm, quickly running across the street so they can file into their car. When Alison attempts to open the driver side's door, Emily swiftly wraps her arms around the blonde's waist and moves her further away in order to unlock the vehicle and climb in. Alison, grunting in disbelief, runs around the car and slides into the passenger's seat when it begins to rain harder. Once Alison is buckled, she turns to Emily and flashes her best "you're a child" expression, earning an innocent (yeah, right) "you love me" smile.

The brunette pulls out of the parking space after flicking the windshield wipers on and checking her mirrors. She drives carefully since it hasn't rained in about a week, usually causing the streets to become even more slippery during a night like this. Within minutes, they're passing Emily's old apartment, and she glances at the building briefly. Alison, noting Emily's sentimental expression, puts a reassuring hand on her girlfriend's knee for a split second, rolling her eyes when the brunette raises an eyebrow at the gesture while she's driving.

"Thanks for being so sweet and taking care of me tonight. At the parlor, I mean," Alison breaks the confined silence.

Emily smiles sweetly before it morphs into a teasing smirk, "Well, you _were_ a paying customer. I _had_ to be sweet."

"Do you give _all_ of your clients supportive yet concerned eyes?"

When she realizes that she's been caught, Emily bites her lower lip and doesn't argue any further, to which Alison hums a short "Mhm," before mumbling, "thought so." A few more minutes pass before they're back at their house, parking in the small lot across the street, and running to the front door as fast as possible.

Alison, while jogging up the steps, finds her key and unlocks the door with ease, chuckling while she forcefully passes the other girl in order to get inside first. They walk through the doorway (and dry off) to find that it's now 11:13 P.M., and the two girls race up the stairs so they can change into pajamas. It takes them a bit longer than usual since they're pretty damp from the rain (and Alison isn't any less handsy than usual), but they manage. Emily, in the end, goes for her favorite bedtime outfit: a baggy t-shirt and shorts. Alison, on the other hand, decides to put on a pair of super short, soft shorts, and a simple bra, excusing the lack of shirt with "What? I don't want to disturb my new tattoo" and a few innocent blinks. The other girl shakes her head at the statement, breathing out a laugh and kissing Alison's lips for a short period of time until she sashays her way out of the closet area, quickly makes her way down the stairs, and goes to find a snack in the kitchen.

While Emily waits for Alison to meet her downstairs, she snacks on whatever she can find as she listens to the rain pick up, a rumble or two of thunder cracking nearby and shaking the house pretty damn hard. Soon enough, the blonde runs downstairs, breathing heavily as she chokes out "That gave me a fucking heart attack," which earns a laugh from her girlfriend who chews on some dry cereal.

"How long do I have to wait before I clean this?" Alison directs the question at Emily while she uses her front-facing camera to look at the new tattoo.

"Around forty more minutes."

The blonde dramatically groans at the answer, swaying her hips as she walks over to the couch and throws herself onto the cushions.

"You better remind me because you know I'll forget," she shoots backwards and Emily rolls her eyes.

"I know you will," the other girl comments as she puts the box of cereal away.

During her walk over to the couch, another loud rumble of thunder shakes the house more than before, causing the hallway's chandelier to jingle a bit as Alison whines. Emily, after hearing her girlfriend's slight distress, sits next to the blonde and pulls her closer, kissing Alison's head once she gets comfortable.

"My collarbone is sore," she whines with a small laugh.

"I'm sorry," Emily coos with a pout of her own. "I tried to go easy on you."

"Did you? Did you _really_?" Alison lifts her head and arches an eyebrow.

"Yes," the brunette breathes out a laugh, "I swear."

"I'm only teasing, Em. You were very gentle. Thank you," she leans up and presses her lips against her girlfriend's, earning a soft hum from Emily.

The kiss deepens when Alison climbs into her girlfriend's lap, straddling her thighs while lightning illuminates the room periodically, flashing through the large, blind-covered windows every now and again. Whenever thunder flows through the air, Emily pulls back slightly to check on her girlfriend who seems to be frightened by extremely loud storms, but stops breaking their lip-lock once Alison whispers, "Distract me." The other girl nods gently before reconnecting their lips, dragging her tongue against Alison's when she's pressed harder against the back of the couch. A breathy moan escapes the blonde's throat once she feels her girlfriend's hands squeezing her ass to bring her closer, and Emily does it again in order to get a similar response. When she does, she smiles against Alison's mouth and kisses her harder, causing the other girl to latch onto her bottom lip. The blonde lets go after a moment, giving Emily one last peck on the lips before sitting back, being held in place by her girlfriend's crossed arms behind her back.

"You're so beautiful," Alison says as she brushes a few hairs away from her girlfriend's face.

Emily smiles at the compliment before looking down, chuckling slightly, and opening her mouth a fraction when she sees that Alison is watching her with a confused expression.

"You don't know whether or not you should be sweet or sarcastic right now, do you?" the blonde half-assumes, half-explains on her girlfriend's behalf.

"The struggle of being me," Emily muses and Alison intentionally falls to the side, landing on the cushions with a grunt. "Alright, you can wash your tattoo."

" _Finally_ ," Alison jumps up.

"Sorry, was I not entertaining you enough?"

"Mm, debateable," she looks back at Emily while they enter the bathroom, smirking when her girlfriend is forcefully frowning.

The blonde stands in front of the mirror, not exactly knowing what to do first, and the other girl shakes her head when realizing that Alison paid no attention to the care sheet whatsoever. Emily, having done this repeatedly, spins her girlfriend around forcefully, earning a disgruntled noise. Next, she rummages through the space underneath the sink in order to find some paper towels and her special, unscented lotion. Once the supplies are situated on the countertop, she pushes Alison's bra strap partially down her shoulder before peeling off multiple pieces of tape that hold the plastic wrap against the area.

"You _do_ realize that you're going to have to learn how to do this yourself, right?" Emily's eyes meet her girlfriend's for a moment.

"Why can't you keep doing it for me?" Alison grins as the other girl begins to apply a thin layer of soap and water along the area.

"Because I won't always be home and you should do it at least three times a day for a week," the brunette raises her eyebrows as she dabs the area with a paper towel.

She continues, "It's not difficult. You just need to gently wash it and put a _very_ thin layer of lotion on the area so it doesn't get messed up or infected."

While Emily begins to gently spread lotion over the area, Alison has a hard time focusing anywhere other than her girlfriend's lips, so she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Soon enough, the brunette places the bottle back onto the counter's surface, moving her fingers along the area to make sure everything is covered. When she sees Alison biting onto her lower lip, the corner of her mouth turns into a tiny smirk as she drags her fingertips against the raised line-work. Emily continues tracing the new numbers, making sure not to apply too much pressure to the fresh wound. Within seconds, she begins to dot small kisses along the area surrounding the tattoo, careful not to take off any of the new lotion, and Alison sucks in a sharp breath.

"How does it feel?" Emily whispers once she backs up.

"It stings a little, but otherwise it feels… sensitive," she swallows hard as she opens her eyes to see the other girl smiling shyly.

"I'll admit, I'm really liking this new tattoo of yours."

"That's because you're the one who did it."

"Not true," Emily looks away suddenly. "Not completely, at least. It looks… _attractive_."

"Oh yeah?" Alison takes a step closer. "How attractive?"

" _Very_ ," Emily chokes out when her girlfriend is within an extremely intoxicating proximity.

While Alison moves closer, Emily begins to back out of the room, giving her girlfriend a peck on the lips before returning to the living room. The other girl, left in the bathroom, rolls her eyes before chasing the brunette, speed-walking in order to catch up. When she sees that Emily has reclaimed her former position on the couch, she sits in the girl's lap. As another few more rumbles of thunder (which are only a bit more quiet) crack in the distance, Alison wraps an arm around Emily's neck, using the other to cup her jaw and tilt her head upwards.

"I love you," she spills the heart-felt confession to the girl semi-beneath her.

"And I love you," Emily smiles then makes a slight kissy face at her girlfriend who is happy to close the gap between them.

Unintentionally (on Emily's end), the kiss is much deeper than initially planned, and the room's air feels five times heavier within mere seconds. Emily places one hand on her girlfriend's lower back to hold her close, while her other hand plays with the hem of the blonde's shorts. When Alison presses Emily further against the couch (much like before), the brunette pulls back, causing the girl in her lap to put on a curious expression.

"I'm nervous that I'm going to somehow hit your new tattoo. I don't want to hurt you," Emily explains when she sees Alison's look.

"You won't hurt me," the other girl tries to convince her timid girlfriend before leaning down in an attempt to reconnect their lips.

Emily, however, moves away again with a shy and conflicted smile.

"I don't think those papers listed this as one of the consequences of getting a tattoo," Alison arches an eyebrow and Emily laughs.

"Because none of my other clients throw themselves at me after I tattoo them," Emily offers the excuse, but the blonde's jaw drops slightly.

"Are you trying to say that I'm _throwing_ myself at you, Em?" she dares the brunette to escape the conversation.

"Maybe, just a little," Emily whispers with a challenging smirk.

"Well, in that case…" Alison pushes herself off of the other girl and begins to walk away, however is pulled backwards onto the couch before Emily climbs on top of her, carefully avoiding putting her hands anywhere near the girl's chest area.

The girl pinned against the cushions smiles wide at first before she licks her lips and arches an eyebrow at the brunette who holds their hands somewhere above Alison's head. Emily squints her eyes and tilts her head a fraction, watching her girlfriend's blue eyes repeatedly drift downwards.

"I thought you liked being on top? Something about feeling more _powerful_?" Emily reminds the other girl who looks around the room, pretending to think.

"Yeah," she admits, "but this position isn't so bad."

" _Mhm_ ," Emily hums in agreement as she lowers her head and kisses the girl beneath her.

The room illuminates again with a fresh batch of lightning (and impending thunder), though it doesn't interrupt the two very much. Alison deepens the kiss as much as she can without using her hands, internally cursing at her girlfriend for keeping her pinned down. Emily, sensing the tiny hint of struggle, smiles against Alison's mouth until she tilts her head back abruptly.

"And this is exactly why I like being on top," Alison wears a tight-lipped smile.

"Too bad," Emily challenges. "I could lay here forever."

Her voice softens towards the end of the statement, and their expressions both become lighter — yet more serious, all the same. Alison, in response, swallows hard and bites her lip as she blinks a few times. Emily watches the girl beneath her with a caring look cascaded upon her features.

Suddenly, Alison nods with a quiet "As long as you never leave."

"Never," Emily shakes her head as she leans back down to capture her girlfriend's lips once more.

"I trust you," comes the whispered response when they break apart for a split second.

The statement takes Emily by surprise due to the easiness in which the words tumbled from her girlfriend's lips. As a result, her heart beats a little faster and a weird feeling stirs in her stomach ━ though it's not the first time that's happened because of Alison's words. When she breaks their lip-lock to look into Alison's eyes once again, she sees genuine and _complete_ love. Sure, it's been there before, but every day it seems to deepen more and more and Emily knows she'll never get tired of it — neither of them will. Alison similarly feels the magnetic connection between them, and, yeah, maybe it makes her a bit nervous, but she's finally in the frame of mind where she can trust that Emily won't let her fall on her ass. Everyone is going to have rough patches, which Alison understands now, but her and Emily will be able to defeat whatever demons they face — _together_ ; Emily has proved that time and time again, and she couldn't feel any more infatuated with the girl she's come to know so well in a short amount of time. In Alison's mind, maybe she was supposed to fall down a few times (or be shoved down, really) ━ maybe that was her "plan" all along. Now, she wouldn't change a thing about how she came across finding Emily, and vise-versa; no matter their mindset prior to today, it doesn't change how they feel now, and, currently, they're feeling… _reborn_ , in a way; like it's a second chance for both of them and how they look at themselves, as well as how they look at their relationship as a whole — and it's refreshing, to say the least, to _accept_ the past and look towards the future.

* * *

 **It's parallels galore up in here.**

 **So, how was it? The final, main chapter (aside from the epilogue, which I'm sure you understand what I mean by now).**

 **I know I planted prior evidence of Alison getting a tattoo, but did anyone think that she'd actually go through with it? I had this ending planned out from before I even began writing Ch 1, so I'm glad it worked out nicely. I think that it's an extreme testament and send-off to their relationship, and Alison saying she trusts Emily is just the cherry on top. They've both come so far individually and as a couple, especially if you remember when Alison practically shoved Emily onto her ass that one day before going out to drink.**

 **But, before I pat myself on the back for a job well-done, is anyone extremely disappointed in the ending? That being asked, does anyone have any questions regarding "loose ends"? Send me comments and/or questions if you have them, and I'll answer within the epilogue's top author's note… unless they're bound to be answered in the actual epilogue, itself.**

 **Now, here's a sneak peek from "January of 2011."**

 **━ [Beginning of "January of 2011" excerpt] ━**

 **"Tell me what happened," Emily's cold voice causes the blonde to snap her head upwards, tired, red eyes locking with the brunette's broken, brown ones as she stands only steps into the kitchen.**

 **"I wanted to tell you when it happened," she starts, but the other girl shakes her head in protest, a sob ripping through her throat as she sniffles hard.**

 **"You lied to me… for years," the girl looks completely shattered, and Alison's cheeks are soaked with tears.**

 **"I━"**

 **"Even when…" she trails off with wide eyes, "you _knew_ you were lying."**

 **The blonde's hands shake by her sides as she looks around the room frantically, her tears never stopping as the other girl's gaze practically burns a hole through her temple.**

 **"I went to Rosewood a few times. I told you that I had to work late… and I took a bus to Rosewood to check up on everyone. Usually, I stayed for thirty minutes maximum," she takes a deep breath and slams her eyes shut, "but one time I followed them to that lodge and, _God_ , it was engulfed in flames faster than anything I've ever seen. I had to save them… I just _had_ to."**

 **Emily shakes her head in disbelief, eyes widening with every second that passes. Alison, upon seeing the reaction, feels her lip quiver when the other girl looks at her with such distrust and betrayal. She cries harder when the brunette takes a step back, crossing her arms in a defensive manner.**

 **Emily's voice is completely drained as she rubs at her face, her hands shaking similarly to the blonde's, "What else have you been lying to me about, Alison?"**

 **"That's it, Em, I swear," Alison's tone is uneven and she swallows hard.**

 **"How do I know that for sure, Ali?! How do I know if you're telling the truth? After all these years..." her voice trails off.**

 **"Em━"**

 **"God, after all these years, how do I know if _anything_ was real?" the brunette looks up with a quivering lip and tears flooding down her cheeks; a sight that's enough to make Alison break into hysterics.**

 **━ [End of sneak peek excerpt] ━**

 **As you can see, it's going to get extremely emotional. I'm actually slightly nervous for ya'll to read this new story because it's almost completely different from TM &HS, as in… "January of 2011" has their relationship working backwards, somewhat, emotions are at an ultimate high, and everyone is back and forth. ━ Anywho, I just finished Ch 15, so I have at least five more chapters to write, then I'm going to go back to the beginning and revise, myself, before it's available for posting… which brings me to the next topic: I don't know when I'll be posting the new story. Like I said previously, I don't really want to post it right away, but who knows. Either way, I'll have "What If (This Happened)?" providing you with one-shots.**

 **Here endeth the Ch 20 author's note. We've all come so far, actually, but I'll save the sappy shit for the epilogue. Thank you for enjoying my birthday with me, because writing for everyone who takes the time to read is what makes me truly happy.**


	21. EPILOGUE

**Author's note: Thank you for the birthday wishes!**

 **I'll save the sappiness for the ending author's note, and, trust me, it'll be a long one.**

 **P.S. Sorry this final update is landing on the same day as the final table-read for PLL.**

 **Enjoy this little time-jump.**

* * *

━ THREE YEARS LATER ━

"Isn't it beautiful?" the girl allows CeCe to look at her ring up close, both bug-eyed and smiling.

"Holy sh━" CeCe starts, "Caleb has _great_ taste."

"I've taught him well," Hanna beams at her fiancé who sits on a lawn chair as she snatches her hand back.

Emily smirks at the statement, lounging in an identical lawn chair nearby.

Two years after getting together for the _second_ time, Caleb finally popped the question whilst on a European trip with Hanna. For months beforehand, he had searched high and low for the perfect piece of jewelry, practically dragging Emily into endless stores.

" _Caleb, she'd say 'yes' even if you bought a toaster oven to propose with,"_ the brunette furrowed her eyebrows when she saw him slightly panicking.

" _Okay,"_ he tilted his head, _"but you and I both know that she'll complain forever if I don't pick out a Hanna-esque ring."_

Emily nodded in agreement, _"True."_

A few days after that, Caleb found a beautiful, shiny, diamond ring that _definitely_ screams Hanna ━ and, now that she's seen it, the blonde agrees.

Emily's proud that the two patched things up; for a while, after eight months of dating, Hanna and Caleb hit a rough patch when an ex-girlfriend of his showed up out of nowhere, and he ended up hanging out with her a time or two. Hanna asked why (well, she more-or-less _demanded_ to know why he'd give her the time of day), and he only answered, _"She's been with me through a lot. She was my foundation for a while, Hanna. It's complicated,"_ to which the blonde stormed out, and crashed with Emily and Alison for five days.

Coincidentally, at the same time of Caleb and Hanna's "mutual break," Mona and Mike had split over differences in future goals. At the time, after only several months of steady dating, Mike mentioned the idea of a permanent future together, and Mona panicked almost immediately, barging into CeCe's house and going on a three-hour-long rant about why she just _cannot_ commit to forever. When Mona entered, much to CeCe's irritation, the tall blonde and Vincent were heating up on the couch ━ not that Mona, herself, cared all that much.

So, when Emily, Alison, Hanna, CeCe, and Mona went on a two-day vacation at some resort hotel an hour away, the two broken girls ended up getting severely drunk and, judging by the way CeCe walked into Mona's hotel room with an _"Oh my God"_ the next morning, the two _somehow_ fell into bed together. Upon the taller blonde's reaction, Alison had peeked into the room, only to shoot a wide-eyed look at the two covered in sheets and messy hair before shoving Emily through the doorway with a shaky _"Come on, Em, let's go get some breakfast."_ The brunette furrowed her eyebrows at the nervous tone laced within her girlfriend's words, and forced Alison to tell her what happened only moments later.

" _I don't know,"_ the other girl stressed.

" _Well, what did you see?"_

At that, Alison pursed her lips and shook her head, rubbing at her eyes as she let out a groan.

" _No,"_ Emily finally put two and two together due to the reaction. _"Are you kidding me? I told Hanna to━"_

" _They're hurting, Em. I'm not exactly surprised, but…"_ her eyes bugged as she looked towards the floor, hoping it'd erase the image she just saw.

For days after, Emily lectured Hanna endlessly, both scolding her while simultaneously making sure that she's okay. The blonde eventually told Caleb what happened (albeit begrudgingly), and explained that she just didn't remember how everything came about, but that she's sorry and it was just a drunken fling.

This created some awkward tension once Caleb and Hanna got back together, especially when everyone began going on group dates again ━ Mona included. It didn't last, however, because Mona did her best apologizing to Caleb for what happened, and he replied, _"All water under the bridge. Let's just move on."_ A few months later, Mike and Mona caught up and, after talking through their differences regarding the future, ended up getting back together.

"Em," Alison's irritated voice comes from somewhere near the cottage's stairs.

The brunette turns to see her girlfriend advancing in her direction, Mona in tow with a tray of shot glasses and alcohol. Emily smiles at Alison's rosy cheeks, most likely a result from the extreme sun they've been catching at the Cape Cod beach house ━ courtesy of Mona's boss.

The blonde huffs, "It's your turn to go get him. He's crying somewhere over there," she points towards the shrubs located west of where the group is sitting.

Emily furrows her eyebrows, "He was literally _just_ right here."

"He moves fast," Alison shrugs while her girlfriend finally stands up.

Before moving away, the brunette leans forward and presses a kiss to the other girl's lips, smiling when she hears a round of _yuck_ 's come from behind them. Alison rolls her eyes at the others, muttering an impatient "Go" to Emily who doesn't move quick enough.

"If he eats something strange because you're too slow, I'm making you sleep in his bed tonight."

Emily frowns at the statement, quickly shuffling across the grass and walking into the shrubs, grunting when she repeatedly gets poked by the various protruding branches. The group sitting on the east side of the yard chuckles whenever they hear a distraught "Come on" from the girl searching the bushes but, eventually, laugh when the brunette exits the landscaping with a struggling, dirt-covered, thirty-pound dog in her arms. Alison shakes her head while smiling, more so because of the pouting look on her girlfriend's face.

About a year ago, Emily and Alison were arriving home from a date around 9 P.M. when they heard some whining coming from the far side of their building. Quickly, the blonde searched for the source of the noise and let out an elongated _"Aww"_ when she saw a greyish-brown puppy huddling in the corner of the brick structure. Emily, only steps behind, held her girlfriend back so she wouldn't touch it ━ just in case.

" _Well I'm not going to just leave it here, Em,"_ she said with a pointed tone.

At the statement, the brunette looked at the animal and found no trace of tags, so she sighed.

" _Alison, it could be sick."_

" _Go get a bowl of water and something for it to eat,"_ the blonde instructed, never taking her eyes off of the timid animal.

When the other girl exited the house, water and pieces of apple in hand, she placed the bowl and peeled fruit chunks in front of the puppy, however it didn't come forward to eat or drink. It just sat there, sitting against the building, whining.

" _Apples? Really, Em?"_

" _What? Vincent feeds them to Violet all the time. I'm not sure what else it can handle as a puppy."_

Knowing that they had no idea what else to do, Emily called CeCe in hopes that she's with Vincent at the time and, thankfully, the two came over within the next ten minutes.

" _I'm no vet,"_ Vincent crouched down and examined the small dog, only a tad bigger than the man's foot, _"but he's not showing any signs of rabies. If anything, he likely has fleas or something he picked up on the streets."_

" _So, it's a 'he'?"_ CeCe raised an eyebrow.

" _Not sure, but I feel bad for calling him an 'it',"_ he explained and the couple behind him looked at one another.

" _He looks like a Shepherd mix of some kind,"_ Vincent continued to eye the cowering animal, backing up afterwards.

After that, everyone sat on the ground (yes, even though it was 9:30 P.M.), and tried to keep to themselves as much as possible, hoping that the small dog would eat or drink something. Thankfully, the puppy wandered out of the corner and eyed the group cautiously, graciously burying his face into the bowl of water and becoming covered in the liquid before turning to the sliced fruit and eating as much as possible.

" _Do you want me to hook you up with my vet's number?"_ Vincent looked at Emily, who looked at Alison and earned a rapid head-nod.

CeCe chuckled nearby, knowing full well how happy the girl would be if they finally adopted a dog.

So, of course, after the puppy sat in the middle of the group and laid down in comfort, he was brought into the house while Emily barricaded him into the main living space ━ just in case he really was sick. The next day, the two brought the puppy into the vet's office and received a ( _mostly_ ) good report: no microchip (meaning the dog's un-owned), no fleas (surprising everyone), a bit underweight but not too much ━ the only bad aspect being that the pup is partially blind in his left eye.

" _Are you two planning on keeping the little guy?"_ the vet continued petting the small animal.

" _So, it's a boy?"_

" _Yep."_

" _How big is he going to get?"_ Emily questioned, trying to figure out if they'd be able to handle a bigger dog.

" _Maybe forty pounds,"_ the man looked at the puppy. _"His bone structure isn't fully Shepherd, so Vincent was pretty correct. Not sure what mix though. Something smaller, definitely."_

Emily eyed her girlfriend carefully while Alison tilted her head with a childish smile.

" _Come on. He came into our lives so randomly. I'm not turning him away now,"_ she pouted.

" _I'm not going to lie… I'd love a dog,"_ Emily shrugged, _"but I'm not going to be the only one taking care of him, Alison."_

" _I'm responsible!"_

" _For the most part."_

Alison raised an eyebrow and Emily smirked, _"Okay, fine."_

The vet smiled at the two and handed them a few pieces of paper: things that needed to be signed, how to register a new dog in their city, and details on when he'll need to be "fixed." Emily's eyes widened at the vet bill, but chuckled when Alison mumbled, _"No take-backs,"_ in her ear as she signed some of the papers.

" _I haven't registered him yet, so technically he isn't ours at the moment,"_ Emily informed while driving home, Alison in the passenger's seat with the dog. _"I have one request, Ali, and then I'll sign."_

The blonde groaned, _"What is it?"_

" _His name is Fluffy."_

" _Are you serious right now? You're going to be that cliché?"_ Alison chuckled.

" _Yes,"_ Emily wasn't joking.

" _Okay, fine, agreed."_

Potty-training was fun ━ _not_ ━ but the couple was successful, nevertheless, because Mike ended up extending their back yard's fence over to the side door's steps so they can let Fluffy outside whenever they please. On the other side of things, much to their surprise (judging by the way the dog had been afraid of them during their first day together), Fluffy became a big cuddlebug, forcing himself between the two at night. Usually, it's adorable and Alison clings to the soft animal as much as possible but, on occasion, he'll whine at the most inopportune times, begging to jump onto the bed while Alison straddles her girlfriend with bare skin.

" _I swear, I'm going to get a gate and put it at the top of the stairs,"_ the blonde gritted her teeth one night, pausing all movements.

" _He just wants to be loved, Ali,"_ Emily chuckled.

" _Yeah? Well, so do I."_

Emily puts Fluffy onto the grass and makes him sit, earning a soft grunt from the animal as he gets his fur brushed off. Almost as if on cue, Vincent walks out of the cottage, Violet trotting over to Fluffy with a wagging tail.

"I thought I told you to watch him, huh?" Emily raises an eyebrow at Violet who tilts her head.

The brunette chuckles and stands up, eventually walking back over to the group who sits in a circle.

"How'd you get your boss to let the dogs come along?" Hanna directs at Mona, a curious eyebrow raised.

"That wasn't hard," the dark-haired girl laughs, her sunglasses covering her eyes. "He's an animal-lover so, when I showed him a picture of the two pups, he practically shoved a list of nearby dog parks into my hands."

While the group continues to chat, Violet and Fluffy make their way near the circle, eventually nesting and laying down together in the soft grass. Hanna makes a squeaking noise upon seeing the two cuddling, causing everyone to look and let out the same reaction. Compared to Fluffy, Violet is practically a horse, but she's so gentle with the younger dog, allowing him to tackle her while they play.

In fact, the two dogs have brought a closer bond upon Alison, Emily, CeCe, and Vincent ━ that _and_ the fact that, when Brixton moved to somewhere more "woodsy" with Alicia, he left No End Tattoo Parlor in the hands of both Emily and Vincent after everyone decided that a split-ownership would be a nice idea. Berlin and Antoinette were perfectly okay with the idea as well, especially since, at one point, they had gotten themselves into a spur-the-moment Vegas-wedding situation, making things a bit more complicated for everyone. It was sorted out, however, and the two are now happily married ━ though that doesn't stop Antoinette from trying to fight him at the shop whenever he's being annoying.

As expected, more ownership means more money, and both Emily and Alison are raking in _a lot_ of it. A year and a half after Alison began her new job with Hanna's company, a few of her articles made it into big-name magazines, causing more publicity to flood into the workplace which (naturally) means Alison received a big bonus from her boss, promoting her to a position higher than ever before. Hanna was proud of the other blonde, intentionally flashing Alison around while saying, _"I'm the one who brought her here, don't forget,"_ as Alison just shook her head with slight laughter.

"Did you remember to put sunscreen on your tattoos?" Emily leans over and whispers to her girlfriend.

"Em, the sun is already setting━"

"Did you?"

"Mhm," Alison rolls her eyes and hums in response.

CeCe looks at Mona with an expectant expression, silently asking the same question.

"Yes, I did," the dark-haired girl huffs. "I'm not stupid."

The taller blonde snickers at the statement, earning a sharp kick to the side of the shin. Hanna snorts at the mild violence, earning a slap on the arm from none other than CeCe who smiles bitterly. Hanna rubs at her arm with a frown while Mike, Caleb, and Vincent laugh at the entire encounter.

Sometime between all the drama that had happened with Mona and Mike, the girl's two blonde best friends hastily agreed to getting matching friendship tattoos on their ankles. Alison, having known of the plan for quite some time before _actually_ following through, notified Emily who completely closed up shop on a Thursday night ━ just for the girls. Vincent was there as well (as per usual), snatching Brixton's former schedule and making it his own while Emily's only tweaked a bit with the move.

CeCe forced Mona to get hers done first, claiming, _"This was your idea, so you go first."_

In response, the dark-haired girl threw back, _"But Alison's done this before!"_

Alison frowned as her name was mentioned, not moving an inch while Emily and Vincent tried to muffle their laughter nearby.

" _Rock, paper, scissors?"_ Mona shakily suggested, earning a _"Just go!"_ from CeCe.

With a sharp _"Fine then,"_ the girl sat down in the leather chair as Emily went through her preparation pattern, cleaning Mona's skin and, eventually, dragging the cluster of needles across the same area. She let out some strange noise at the initial sensation, getting used to it soon after as CeCe crossed her arms and walked out of the room whilst trying to breathe.

" _I can't believe I agreed to this,"_ she shook her head as Vincent eyed her.

" _You don't have to go through with it if you don't want to."_

" _Oh, yes she does,"_ Mona chimed in from the curtained room.

CeCe made Alison go next, so she sat in the chair and flashed her girlfriend a "you better not hurt me" smile, earning an eyeroll from the artist. Vincent chuckled whilst standing in the doorway, his girlfriend standing in front of him as she bit her thumbnail.

Finally, the taller blonde's turn came up, and she hastily sat in the chair and looked at Alison.

" _If your girlfriend makes this painful, I'm killing her."_

Emily smirked while Alison offered a nonchalant, _"I can't control what she does."_

At the first test buzz, CeCe jumped in the chair, earning her boyfriend's worry, _"Are you sure you don't want me to do it, babe?"_

The girl, in response, shook her head, _"No, but you better get your ass over here so I can hold your hand."_

" _God, you're acting like I'm going to intentionally━"_

" _Just do it, already!"_ Mona groaned from nearby, cutting Emily off.

It didn't take long for CeCe to nearly crush Vincent's hand, though Emily barely even touched the girl's skin for the first three minutes. Alison and Mona snickered the entire time, each earning a sharp glare.

" _You're lucky we're not filming this,"_ Mona laughed.

" _No, you're lucky you're not filming this,"_ CeCe hissed, shooting daggers at the two.

Thirty more minutes passed and all three girls were finished getting tattooed, exchanging compliments regarding the work even though the pieces are exactly the same: two-inch by two-inch, grey-scaled dandelions with the letters "A," "C," and "M," scattered inside the winded "poofy things" (as per Hanna's exclamation upon seeing the tattoos).

Speaking of tattoos and Emily's occupation, the brunette's parents paid a visit to Emily and Alison around a year ago, only to have a surprisingly _great_ time. At first, Mr. and Mrs. Fields were a bit cautious and awkward when stepping into the younger couple's home, only to grow to the decor, very extraordinarly complementing Emily's art hung upon the brick wall ━ even though they weren't aware that it's their daughter's, at first.

" _Those are Em's paintings,"_ Alison proudly stated, grinning when she saw the looks of disbelief written across their faces.

" _No kidding,"_ Mr. Fields breathed out.

" _Impressive,"_ his wife smiled, and Alison looked at Emily after the usage of one of her favorite words.

They sat and talked about random things, mostly while Emily listened quietly as she faded in and out of the conversation. Alison did her best to casually comfort her girlfriend, until Emily's parents noticed the blonde girl's collarbone tattoo.

" _Ah, so you enjoy tattoos, as well?"_ Wayne smiled while his wife's eyes looked around the room.

" _I didn't always,"_ Alison shrugged and Emily looked at her. _"I never really cared for them, but I guess I never really understood why someone would permanently put something on their body. Then, after Em came into my life, I did."_

" _Because of her profession?"_

" _No,"_ she shook her head and smiled, never breaking eye contact, _"because she had such an impact on my life that I wanted to remember the moment she walked into it."_

Emily smiled and looked down, swallowing hard at the honesty laced in her girlfriend's words. Pam's eyes locked with Alison's and they grew misty at the sentiment, smiling softly. Wayne, on the other hand, dug further for details, wanting to know how their relationship came about.

" _What kind of impact did she have on you, may I ask?"_ his features held a knowing expression, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

The younger brunette grabbed her girlfriend's hand, silently letting her know that she doesn't need to relive any events if she doesn't want to, but Alison nodded to her and spoke again.

" _I went through a lot with my family, and my ex-fiancé who ended up cheating on me. I was in a really, really low place when I met Em, and she helped me become so much more real. I'm not sure where I'd be if I didn't stumble into her tattoo shop that night. Maybe I wouldn't be here,"_ she smiled sadly, _"but I'm happy that I am."_

" _Your parents aren't nice people, are they?"_ Pam broke the new-found silence with a question of her own, surprising Emily when the woman didn't automatically go on the offensive for Alison's family.

At the time, both Emily and Alison's minds flashed back to the most recent news of Mrs. DiLaurentis possibly having an affair with some younger man, but they were never able to figure out if it was simply a rumor ━ they didn't care to know, really. Either way, Alison's parents never tried to contact their daughter after everything was all said and done, and maybe it's better that way. Alison sure is happy, especially more so now that Emily and Jason had met months prior. They hit it off immediately, Jason breaking out some embarrassing childhood stories regarding Alison playing princess games.

" _No,"_ Alison finally offered another sad smile after breaking out of her thoughts. _"I wish things with them worked out differently, but…"_

The older woman nodded, _"Well that's okay. You've got us now,"_ surprising the younger couple who sat on the couch.

"Hey," the blonde's voice breaks Emily out of her memories, "are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry… I drifted," Emily leans over and presses a kiss to the girl's cheek.

"Stop drifting. You need to keep an eye on Fluffy, remember?" she raises an eyebrow.

Emily huffs, "He's sleeping with Violet. Leave him be."

"He's sneaky and you know it."

Before the brunette can respond, Mona stands up and yells, "Alright, everyone grab a shot glass."

Alison groans while Emily shoots her a "you know you don't have to" look, but the blonde sashays over to the tray and takes a tiny glass, eyeing the contents and grimacing. Emily follows suit, holding onto the gulp of alcohol while she waits for everyone else. Once the rest of the group has their respective glasses, they stand there in silence while waiting for Mona to speak again.

"We're toasting━"

"Well _obviously_ ," CeCe cuts in with a smirk.

"I'm going to make you stay in Mercedes for the rest of this vacation if you don't stop taunting me."

The tallest blonde rolls her eyes while Hanna giggles.

"As I was saying…" she side-eyes CeCe, "this is a toast to Hanna and Caleb, and their engagement. May the odds be ever in your favor," she glances at Caleb who snickers at the reference.

Everyone laughs and downs their drink, Alison blinking heavily after it's over with. Emily makes a face at her girlfriend, laughing harder when the blonde shakes her head with disgust.

"I'm so glad I'm over this shit," she puts the glass back down onto the tray.

"Me too," Emily comments, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend in a tight hug.

Hanna groans, "Get a room."

"You're ten times more handsy than we are," the brunette scoffs, but the ending is muffled when Alison presses their lips together, her hands cradling Emily's face.

"Ew," CeCe and Mona snort.

When the blonde continues to latch herself onto her girlfriend, their dog wakes up and saunters over, jumping at Emily and whining.

"Are you fucking kidding me, dude?" Alison backs up and looks at Fluffy.

Somewhere behind them, the rest of the group is in hysterics as they watch the dog beg for attention, eventually earning it when Emily sits on the grass and pets him. Alison stands there, arms out with wide eyes as she was totally just ditched for their dog.

"Looks like someone's not Em Em's number one anymore," Mona sings.

"Shut up," Alison hisses as she plops herself back down onto the lawn chair.

The sun is close to setting, and the atmosphere looks orange, cascading upon the crashing waves down below the yard. Everyone now has their sunglasses off, especially because it'll be getting even darker pretty soon. The air is a perfect temperature, really, and a nice breeze passes through every now and then. Mona smiles at the fact that she couldn't have picked a better week for them to stay, and everyone seems to be having a great time ━ like _every_ year.

"Em," Hanna calls the other girl who remains on the grass, "come here."

"Are you _really_ going to make me move, Hanna?"

"Of course I am. Come here. I want to Skype Spencer and Aria. We promised we would, remember?"

Emily grunts as she gets up, "Fine, video chat them. I'll be right there."

She continues to brush herself off while Fluffy walks back over to Violet, curling up beside the giant dog. Alison eyes the two animals, smiling softly when her girlfriend passes her to sit next to Hanna. Caleb moves over so the brunette can sit, ending up in a chair further away. The blonde immediately brings up Skype on the iPad that she had brought outside with them (specifically for this moment), tapping on the two other girls' names as she waits for the call to connect. It takes a few moments but, eventually, both Spencer and Aria's faces pop up, and everyone is smiling.

"I miss you guys," Aria pouts almost immediately. "Is Mike there?"

"Yes, Mike is here," Mike chuckles, speaking loudly so his sister can hear.

"Lucky," she mumbles back.

"How are you two?" Emily smiles at both of them.

Spencer shrugs, "Meh. Fine, I guess. Busy with stupid paperwork for… you know, I have no idea anymore."

Hanna chuckles, "Yeah, I wouldn't know either."

"And you, Ar?"

"I'm good. I just wish I could've joined you guys," she frowns.

"We'll have to get together soon."

"Yes please," the short brunette whines.

"Hey," Spencer starts laughing out of nowhere, "is that girl next door back this year?"

"Nope," Alison happily shouts from the other side of the circle, causing both Aria and Spencer to laugh hard.

"They actually bulldozed the house next door," Emily chuckles as she looks at the ruins sitting just behind the shrubbery.

"Not beautiful to look at but━"

"Yes it is," Alison interrupts, and Caleb snorts.

"Are they building anything specific there?" Spencer furrows her eyebrows.

"We're not sure yet," Mona steals the iPad. "My boss said they have a few plans in motion but nothing solid as of now."

"Give me that," Hanna pulls the tablet back.

As the three continue to talk via the Skype call, Emily grows quiet (but a mellow kind of quiet) and hugs her hoodie tightly against her. She looks at the seagulls flying overhead, listening to their calls as they dive down towards the water. Suddenly, she mutters a quiet "Be right back" to everyone (mostly Hanna, Aria, and Spencer), and earns a tiny smile from her blonde best friend who goes right back to discussing whatever-it-is over the call. Alison's forehead creases when her girlfriend bounds down the beach steps, and Fluffy's head raises a fraction until Vincent calls both him and Violet over. Alison remains sitting, careful to give her girlfriend space because, well, she's recently been a bit on edge for whatever reason. Really, the blonde just assumes that, maybe, it's her parents, or possibly she's just not feeling up to par. Whatever it is, she's been extremely jumpy for the past two days, and kind of snappy ━ but not too much.

"Gosh, Ali, what'd you do?" CeCe leans over and whispers to her blonde best friend, chuckling with a "Just kidding" when a glare is sent her way.

"Hanna," Alison softly calls, "do you think I should…" she nods over towards the stairs, earning slight hesitation before an actual response.

"What do you think?" Hanna turns the tables which, really, no one was expecting.

Caleb raises an eyebrow in question, and Hanna looks at him with a smile.

"What's happening?" Aria's confused voice comes through the speaker.

"Em went down to the beach without saying much," Hanna explains, earning an elongated yet soft "oh" noise from the two other girls.

Alison sighs and pushes herself forward, flashing everyone a curt smile before walking down the beach stairs. Once again, their dog's head lifts and he whines, but Vincent calls him back again, making sure Fluffy doesn't try to escape.

The blonde sees her girlfriend staring at the waves from the middle of their strip of beach, not really moving yet seeming lost in heavy thought. Once she makes it onto the sand, she approaches her carefully, partially standing in front of the girl with a tilted head and concerned expression.

"Are you okay, Em? You've been a bit… off."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she offers a smile and brings Alison into her arms. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"You."

"Oh, so the normal, I see," Alison smirks against Emily's chest.

The brunette laughs, "I guess…"

The other girl backs up with a daring eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm always thinking about you," Emily pulls their bodies back together as they sway.

"I love you," comes Alison's confession after another minute of silence.

"Do you?"

"I do."

"Good…" Emily's voice trails off, and the other girl backs up with a pout.

"Do you love me?"

The brunette smiles and looks down, still not answering. At this, Alison's pout turns into an actual frown, furrowing her eyebrows at the girl who won't answer her. She takes a step closer with curious eyes, and that's when she walks straight into Emily's hand which is now holding a matte black box. Her lips part but, before she can say anything, the brunette kneels down (not that they're on a sturdy surface, she internally rolls her eyes), and smiles.

"I do love you, Ali," her eyes are watering and she can't exactly maintain eye contact, but that's okay because the blonde really just wants to melt into a puddle already.

"Okay, so, you already know this is going to be cheesy…" Emily shakes her head with a sniffle and a small laugh.

She pauses before beginning, "I love you _so_ much, and I have for such a long time now. I was always under the impression that love has a limit but, if there ever _was_ a limit, you definitely destroyed that. You're my idea of perfection, if I'm being honest, and, _God_ , I'm just so captivated by you, as a whole."

Again, she pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing, "You once asked if I could see a future with you, and I still stand by what I said… I can't see a future with anyone _but_ you. After, you told me that you don't want to imagine a day without me, and I'm telling you, now, that you don't have to… you just have to accept."

Emily purses her lips and slams her eyes shut before looking back up towards Alison who remains standing there, lips parted.

"Alison, will you marry me?"

The blonde stands there, not exactly showing any signs of responding until a genuine, surprised smile grows on her face.

"Of course," she shakes her head, "I mean yes."

A few tears fall down Alison's cheek as Emily finishes off her proposal, sliding the ring onto the other girl's finger before jumping up and practically getting knocked over. They hug and kiss for an extended amount of time, Alison obviously understanding Emily's recent timid vibe now that she knows why she was so finicky. The blonde pulls the other girl into a heated kiss, eventually giggling against her mouth.

"I can't believe you actually kneeled in the sand," Alison smirks, causing the other girl to back up an inch.

"Was I not supposed to?"

"I didn't say that," she rolls her blue eyes. "I just didn't picture you kneeling. I'm not sure why."

"So, you've imagined me proposing?" Emily mirrors the other girl's previous smirk, leaning in to kiss her girlfr━ _fiancée_ again.

Alison breathes out a laugh, "Don't act like that surprises you."

Before their lips can touch, they both hear (and see) Hanna leaning over the yard's railing.

"Did she say 'yes'?!" she yells, and the two standing in the sand can hear a round of distraught _Hanna_ 's come from somewhere behind her.

"She knew?" Alison directs at Emily with a pointed smile.

Emily sighs, "She made me tell her. I can't help if my nervousness shows so much."

" _Yeah_ , it does," the blonde grins at the other girl. "Did anyone else know?"

Before Emily can answer, Hanna is raising the iPad above the fence so the two on Skype can see Emily and Alison standing on the beach. The brunette hears some distant yelling before Hanna says, "Of course she accepted." Alison snorts while the other girl groans.

"You didn't answer my question," Alison raises an eyebrow.

"Hanna, Spencer, Aria, Vincent, and Caleb."

The girl furrows her eyebrows, "Why didn't you tell CeCe and M━ yeah, okay, nevermind."

Emily laughs and pulls the other girl closer, kissing her gently and trying to back away, however Alison grasps at her shirt and brings their lips back together for a deeper kiss.

"Will you two stop making out and come back up here so we can toast again?" Mona shouts down from the yard, flashing Alison a big smile after.

"We have a right to make out," Alison throws her voice back, raising her finger and waving it at the dark-haired girl who rolls her eyes and walks away from the fence.

"Come on," Emily grabs the other girl's hand, "Fluffy probably misses me."

Alison scoffs loudly, causing Emily to laugh. They make it up the stairs in no time, remaining hand-in-hand, and Fluffy runs over to them right as the two step onto the yard's surface. Surprisingly, however, he passes Emily and jumps at the other girl, causing a round of dull _ooh_ 's to pass through the circle when the brunette frowns. Alison smiles and bends down to kiss the dog on the nose, earning a sharp sneeze from Fluffy who runs back to Violet afterwards.

"Grab a glass," CeCe sings and smiles big at the newly-engaged couple.

They do as they're told, everyone else already having their own glasses in hand, and stand there afterwards. Alison makes a face at the liquid, already regretting the taste. Emily chuckles, nudging the girl's side.

"You don't have to do it, Ali."

"No, it's a special occasion and I have to."

"I can un-propose if you want."

"That's not funny," she pouts.

"You know I wouldn't even if you asked."

"Shut up, you two lovebirds," Mona interrupts. "CeCe is trying to toast to you."

" _Jeez_ , sorry," the blonde huffs.

The taller blonde raises her small glass and smiles big, Hanna doing the same even though she's still holding the iPad (facing outwards) so the two other girls can feel a part of the group as well.

" _God_ ," CeCe breathes out, her eyes watering slightly as Mona raises an eyebrow, "I wasn't prepared for this, sorry."

Alison smiles and looks at the ground, knowing how emotional CeCe can get when thinking about what's happened in the past ━ including Alison's alcoholism, parents, and former fiancé.

"Just… congratulations, both of you. I've watched you grow so much, and I'm just so happy that you, Alison, are finally happy… with someone that _I_ trust with my life… and skin," she mumbles, causing everyone to chuckle.

"I wish you two the best," CeCe finishes.

Everyone raises their glass and takes the shot, Alison's reaction being the exact same as it was an hour ago. Emily smiles at the other girl, holding onto her empty glass while they remain standing.

"And may the odds be ever in your favor," Caleb eventually directs at Emily, a smirk on his face as Emily laughs.

"Excuse me?" Alison cuts in, laughing.

"You and me both, Ali," Hanna elbows her fiancé in the side.

The rest of their vacation is fantastic, overall. Everyone enjoys themselves, no obnoxious neighbors bother them, and they already begin planning next year's trip. Alison and Emily are practically inseparable (not like they ever were beforehand), and the others are happy to see them finally solidifying a future together. Mona, CeCe, and Hanna are already bugging Alison about the wedding, but the newly-engaged blonde just brushes them off and clings to Emily as the brunette talks with the guys about some No End plans: possibly using Mike and Caleb to help expand the shop or maybe even move it to an abandoned theater down the street from where it exists now.

Each couple grows closer and, once again, the beach house constructs one, big, happy family.

X X X

━ THE EPILOGUE'S EPILOGUE ━

"See," Alison points at the TV from where she rests on the couch, partially lying between her fiancée's legs as the brunette is propped up against the back cushions.

Emily furrows her eyebrows and looks down.

"Draco," the blonde deadpans, offering the explanation, "he's just misunderstood."

The other girl rolls her eyes. Finally, after years, they got around to watching the final Harry Potter movie. Why did it take years, you ask?

"I can't believe you never told me there's an eighth movie," Emily grunts. "All this time, I thought the franchise ended with Voldemort winning."

"I'm sorry!" Alison raises her voice and shifts, turning around with wide eyes, "I was a bit distracted during the seventh movie's ending," she says pointedly.

Emily blushes and smirks, remembering how quickly Alison lost track of the movie once the brunette was sliding down her body ━ out of _complete_ nowhere (so she thinks). They both had been silent the entire film, but, while they watched, Alison's hand was wandering as the other girl cuddled up to her, scratching up and down her back at a slow yet pressureful rate ━ not to mention the fact that it'd occasionally dip under the waistline of the brunette's shorts ━ and it didn't help that Emily was already frustrated to begin with. So, around thirty minutes from the end credits, Emily had enough, and she rolled onto the other girl suddenly, kissing at her neck for at least five minutes before sliding down Alison's body whilst the blonde girl looked at her with wide eyes, and a scrunched-up shirt and bra.

Of course, they didn't have Fluffy at the time, which is mostly the reason why this showing (the eighth and _final_ movie) didn't end up like the seventh ━ much to Alison's disappointment.

"Hermione grew up to be so…" Emily begins, her voice trailing off as she shoots heart eyes at the screen.

"Don't finish that thought."

"Do you disagree?"

Alison shifts again, causing Emily to inhale sharply when the other girl forcefully grinds her back against the brunette's center.

"That's not an answer."

"I know."

The other girl smirks at Alison's underlying agreement.

End credits appear on the screen and Emily forcefully whimpers.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" she groans.

"Well…"

Fluffy raises his head, sitting nearby. When Alison hears his collar jingle, she rolls her eyes and shifts again, earning another sharp inhale from the brunette. Alison smirks but stays still, leaning her head back. In response, Emily leans forward as much as she can and meets the other girl's lips, kissing her gently.

"We could start the Hunger Games franchise," Alison shrugs.

Emily grins, "May the odds be ever in my favor."

At that, the other girl jumps up and attacks Emily with small jabs, causing the brunette to laugh extensively at the sensation. Within seconds, Alison stops, mostly because Fluffy is now softly growling nearby and she knows that Emily won't hesitate to use him against her.

"Call off your guard dog, Emily," their noses are touching and both girls are smiling.

"Why should I?"

"Because you love me."

"Do I?"

"You do," Alison confirms, leaning down and kissing the other girl.

Emily breaks the kiss almost immediately, nodding gently while whispering, "I do," against Alison's lips.

* * *

 **So, I know I (probably) wasn't able to capture their overwhelming feelings in the proposal itself, but I hope that it was satisfying at least a bit. I had to figure out a way to make it true yet cheesy (obviously), and I'm happy with the way it came out.**

 **I actually had a lot of people saying that they should get a Fluffy, so, therefore, I gave them a Fluffy. You're welcome.**

 **Mercedes mention! Emily's parents! Alison expressing her background to Emily's parents! Spencer and Aria hanging out via iPad! Emily and Vincent owning No End! Happiness!**

 **The Vandermarin insert is dedicated to "dilaurentisfields" on Tumblr, mostly because she's one of my best friends and, also, the person who revised this entire fic top to bottom, even though it totaled at ~168k words (minus the author's notes). Really, she revises all of my work, so I appreciate it more than anyone will ever know.**

 **If you're wondering when my new multi-chapter will be posted: I'm still not sure at the moment, but definitely no later than two months from now. I'm trying to get it to you as soon as possible without making it totally lame, so bear with me. In the meantime, make sure you're following my account so you get my story alerts. Otherwise, I'll probably leave a note on one of my one-shots regarding "January of 2011" finally being posted. ━ Remember, my new story isn't exactly AU, and it has most canon events woven into it, but the main story takes place after a five year time-jump. I think you'll enjoy the initial relationship between Emily and Alison, but, because I'm _me_ , it won't stay fluffy for long (but Emison is always endgame). **

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, bookmarked, etc. this story, because it's helped me become way more confident with my writing than I was before. Prior to posting Ch 1, I worried that no one would enjoy the story as much as I do, so I'm way more than just relieved that so many people seemed to have liked it. Really, I went through some tough times during the first few updates, and everyone who commented and/or supported me kept me held high. Thank you so much, and I really hope I see you again while I publish my new story.**

 **Again, if you have any questions/comments regarding this story, my one-shots, the new story, or anything (really), message me on here or at "capn-charlie" on Tumblr. I love hearing from people.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read, and have a nice day.**

 ***Insert fancy signature here***


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